NRIs tighten wallets in real estate hunt
By Riti, Section Gurgaon Real Estate Property
Posted on Wed Jul 16, 2008 at 09:51:42 PM EST
After the slowdown in the US market, non-resident Indians seen to have shifted down and are looking for real estate priced below Rs 50 lakh, down by more than 25% on their targets even a year back.
According to estimates available with 99acres.com, one of the major real estate portals in India, the number of enquiries on the site has not slowed down. Vineet Singh, business head, said, "However, recently a lot of enquiries have been sub 50 lakh category from the NRI community as well."
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There has been a steady growth of overseas visitors to online property sites like indiaproperty.com and 99acres.com. Almost 40% of the 11 lakh unique visitors per month to indiaproperty.com are from the international locations. Visitors from international locations contribute to almost 20% of the 4 lakh unique visitors to 99acres.com.
"We believe that the slight slowdown in the real estate market is another word for opportunity for the investors," Singh said.
Estimates with South City, one of the largest real estate projects in Kolkata, shows that the average-spend for a single unit is around Rs 80 lakh for the non-resident Indians.
"If NRI's are spending for a 3rd or 4th home then they look at price bracket of Rs 40-50 lakh. However if they are buying to live permanently or for their families there isn't any limit," claims Avrajit Kar, vice-president for marketing and business development of South City.
South City, work on which began in 2003, gets 500-600 enquiries over the internet each year, with a conversion rate as high as 37%. "Across industry it is difficult to say as it depends on the properties itself. But NRIs look for properties that give them an experience of a living that's closer to home, closer to international standards," Kar said.
Source:Financial Express 17thJuly2008.
