Ready-to-move-in flats in hot demand; only 5% home buyers want to invest in new projects: Survey

With many real estate projects stuck across the country, prospective home buyers are shying away from investing in newly launched projects and instead looking for ready-to-move-in flats or units to be completed within next six months, according to a survey.

As per the online survey by property consultant ANAROCK, about 49 per cent respondents prefer ready-to-move-in properties while 35 per cent are looking to buy property which will be in ready-to-move-in stage within the next six months.

Eleven per cent participants favoured those properties that will be ready within a year and only 5 per cent buyers want to put their money in newly launched projects.

The survey was conducted in seven major cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Pune -- and saw participation of 2,621 people.

"Ready-to-move-in property has become the flavour of the season with buyers preferring to see what they get. More so, buyers prefer to stay away from risks associated with newly launched projects including incessant delays, few developers claiming bankruptcy or even carrying on with unscrupulous activities, etc," ANAROCK said.

Real estate market, especially that of Delhi-NCR, has been severely affected by defaults and significant delays in deliveries of housing projects. Lakhs of home buyers in Noida, Greater Noida and Gurugram are stuck in projects announced by Jaypee group, Amrapali, Unitech and The 3C Company, among others.

"Buying property is a very judicious decision and the stage of construction indirectly affects one's budget. In a significant trend witnessed in the Indian real estate market recently, demand for new launches has almost ceased to exist in most cities across the country," it added.

The other findings of the survey are that 51 per cent home buyers seek rental income, 39 per cent prefer to invest in housing priced below Rs 40 lakh, 68 per cent seek property for end-use and 52 per cent favour compact 2BHKs (two bedroom flat).

As many as 81 per cent of polled aspiring home buyers acknowledge Indian real estate's improved and improving transparency, discipline and accountability post implementation of regulatory policies.

ANAROCK, founded by Anuj Puri, conducted the survey 'Real Estate Consumer Outlook: H2 2018' to understand what property seekers want in the near future and whether the current macroeconomic environment is conducive for them to take the plunge in the property market.