Real Estate Industry shows resilience, despite a slowdown in business, says report

Noida: Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, Indian Real Estate has suffered a slowdown, as site visits, property enquiries, & sales numbers have dipped significantly- reveals a special research report compiled by 360 Realtors. Many major developers have either postponed new launches or have cancelled them altogether. This is even though this time of the year is very opportune for house purchase, due to numerous festivals such as Navratri, Ugadi, & Gudi Padwa etc.

As per the data compiled by 360 Realtors, major Real estate markets in India has seen suppressed demand, since the beginning of March. As per the data tracked for the 1st 3 weeks of the March,

Gurgaon & Noida has witnessed M/M reduction in site visits to the tune of 40% & 52%. The reduction in sales is roughly 39 & 44%.

Bangalore, The Silicon Valley of India has witnessed a 35% reduction in site visits & around 32% dip in transaction

In the given period, Pune has suffered around the three-quarter slump in site visits. The transaction volume has come down almost by half.

In Kolkata, transactions have eased out by a quarter.

The research has tracked the data for the 1st three weeks of March. Once the lockdown has been imposed, the crisis will further widen.

Mr. Ankit Kansal, Founder & MD, 360 Realtors said, “ Indian Real estate has been suffering from slower demand, due to strains in the macro-economy & ongoing liquidity crunch. As the COVID-19 crisis blew in, the sentiments further plummeted. Buyers are deferring their decisions & are waiting for the crisis to get over. Developers are also postponing launches & are going back to board-room to relook their sales strategy. Time will tell about the long term impact of COVID, but for the time being- the distress is visible.

The Industry is showing Resilience
However, the industry continues to show resilience on the face of the crisis. Most of the companies are working from home & trying to engage with customers through alternative mediums such as telephonic calls, video chats, online meeting platforms etc. Project inquires are still taking place & deals are also been being done, albeit in lesser numbers. 

“This crisis has once again necessitated the need for investing in online meetings, digital walkthroughs, & tech enabled transaction platforms. Till now such things were part of academic discussions. But now, we will surely see more investments in developing such online platforms.” Added Mr. Kansal.

The numbers should pick-up
Post-crisis, the volumes of transactions are expected to grow. Buyers, who wished to buy during the festive seasons will natural come back.

As most of the potential buyers are working from home, they are getting enough time to discuss & research on properties. Stats have also shown that there has been a spike in the online property search. This should push ahead sales, once the crisis will subside. Although, the downside risk of slower economic growth cannot be completely discounted.

It is also believed that as the stock market has drastically declined, investors will look forward to Real Estate to de-risk. The likelihood of Rate Cut by RBI can also give some momentum to the industry.

Research Methodology
360 Realtors, one of the largest Institutional Channel Partner (ICP) in India has tracked the 100+ active project across major Indian markets to understand the impact of COVID-19 in terms of enquiries, site visits, & actual transaction. The company has also interviewed numerous sales & marketing professionals to further gauge the overall impact of COVID-19 on Realty sales in India.