Hyderabad, top housing investment choice for NRIs

Hyderabad: The depreciating rupee value and the continuing buoyancy in the Indian residential real estate market are significant draws for NRIs to invest in their country of origin. The latest CII-Anarock Consumer Sentiment Survey shows that Hyderabad, NCR, and Bengaluru are NRIs' top picks for housing investment. Interestingly, Mumbai Metropolitan Area(MMR) comes a distant fourth on NRIs' wish list.

Notably, at least 60 per cent of NRI respondents will buy homes in one of these three cities, with 22 per cent focused on Hyderabad, 20 per cent eyeing NCR, and 18 per cent preferring Bengaluru. In last year's corresponding period survey, Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai were the top picks for most NRIs.

Of the 5,500 respondents participating in the survey, 7 per cent were NRIs currently stationed in the US, Canada, Gulf, Europe, and various Asian countries.

Notably, more NRIs prefer investing in Indian real estate over stocks, mutual funds, gold, and fixed deposits. In the survey's current (H1 2022) edition, 71 per cent NRI respondents saw Indian housing as the best investment bet. This is markedly higher than the 55 per cent in the pre-Covid edition.

"Despite the worst of Covid-19 past us now, NRIs have clearly not forgotten the uncertainties associated with living in a foreign country during a major pandemic," says Prashant Thakur, Head - Research, Anarock Group. "Securing homes in India became, and remains, a priority for Indians everywhere. While domestic homeownership sentiment remains strong despite hardening home loan interest rates and property prices, the depreciating rupee value against the US dollar gives NRIs a distinct advantage," he added.

Housing has seen a 15-20 per cent increase in NRI demand in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021. As per Anarock Research, the Jan-Sept period of 2022 saw nearly 2.73 lakh homes sold in the top 7 cities. "On an average, NRIs account for 10-15 per cent of homes sold in any given quarter,"says Thakur.

Size matters

Demand for bigger homes has been one of the defining new developments in the post-Covid era. While schools and offices have reopened, the desire for extra living space remains undiminished. Many of the large IT employers companies and IT-driven startups now operate on a hybrid work model.

For NRIs, the favourable exchange rate is another prime motivator to secure bigger homes. The current H1 2022 survey finds that over 77 per cent NRI respondents will buy bigger homes - 54 per cent favouring 3BHKs and 23 per cent looking to buy 4BHKs. Just 22 per cent NRI respondents are now looking for 2BHKs. In the pre-Covid survey, at least 40 per cent were eyeing 2BHKs.

63 per cent NRI respondents currently prefer premium properties priced between Rs 90 lakh –Rs 1.5 crore. In last year's survey, 59 per cent NRIs preferred luxury properties priced between Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2.5 crore.

Many NRIs are now looking to shift back to India and actively use these homes. The current economic situation in many countries is uncertain because of the recessionary dynamics brought on by the Ukraine-Russia war, while the Indian economy is markedly better off.

According to survey, demand for real estate as an investment asset class continues to grow - 71 per cent NRI respondents prefer residential real estate investment over stocks, FDs, gold, etc. - up from 55 per cent in the pre-Covid period.