Dehradun ranks 5th on NRIs' list of property investment destination

Survey highlighted that Bangalore most favourite property investment destination for NRIs followed by Chennai

The Rupee's sharp dip against the US dollar has made temptations for non-resident Indian (NRI) to buy property with realtors expecting an increase of 35% in business enquiries from the expatriates this year, reveals the associated chamber of commerce and industry of India (Assocham) recent findings.

Releasing the Assocham paper on “Falling Rupee sparks property boom from NRIs” D S Rawat, Secretary General Assocham said, “With the rupee riding low against the dollar, Indian residents are looking to accelerate investment plans back home”. The rupee has fallen by about 34% against the US dollar since August 2011 and crossed 65 against the dollar.

The survey highlighted that Bangalore is the most favourite property investment destination for NRIs followed by Chennai (2nd), Mumbai (3rd), Ahemdabad(4th), Dehradun (5th). A lot of Punjabis settled in Canada and UK are expected to invest more in Chandigarh sub-urban like Dera basi, Mohali and Panchukla. This time, there is a lower demand for the Delhi-NCR market, adds the Assocham survey.

Assocham conducted a random survey of nearly 1,250 real estate developers in Delhi-NCR, Dera Basi, Mohali near chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Pune, Dehradun, Chennai etc. The survey reveals that interest for buying property by NRIs have increased due to favourable exchange rates.

“The Indian property developers are anticipating a 35% surge in enquiries to NRI-based purchasers as the rupee dip against the dollar last six months. The decline in rupee has increased property sales because people want to get value for their money”, added majority of developers.

Rawat further said, “It’s definitely not good news for people back at home, but for a non-resident Indian (NRI), this is definitely the best time to invest. At the moment any non-resident Indian buying a property in India can save around 20-30% on his/her property value.

The enquiries may go up further if rupee continues to slide, adds majority of the real estate developers.

The majority of real estate developer said, the NRI traffic is coming primarily from the UAE/Gulf region, US, Singapore, Australia, UK, Canada, South-Africa etc. The demand is more for high end properties and commercial buildings.

As per the recent estimates, nearly 5 million Indian expatriates live in the six Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and they remit close to $30 billion to India every year and have been growing over the years.

Buying a property back home is the top-most priority of every non-resident Indian, at least for those living in the foreign countries as the weakening rupee has given an impetus to fulfill that objective, added 75% of the real estate developers.

The Indian developers are optimistic and expecting to get a good number of booking this year. Their confidence is based on the fact that the rupee is plunging and has fallen 35% in last one year, adds the survey.

The enquiries from NRIs especially from the Middle-East, Europe, the US and Singapore for buying property in India have also risen by 20-25% following the rupee's depreciation.

The record decline in the value of the Indian rupee and the sluggish realty market, proved to be a double delight for overseas Indians investing in property here, adds the Secretary General.