Despite high prices, more Indians want to buy a 3 BHK home: FICCI-Anarock

This is despite the fact that 55% of Indians believe their disposable income had been 'majorly' impacted by inflation

Despite the price rise, more Indians now want to buy bigger homes as compared to earlier, findings of a report released on Tuesday revealed.

In a trend reversal, 50 per cent of Indians now want to buy a 3BHK home, more than any other residential property type, according to the FICCI-Anarock Consumer Sentiment Survey (H2 2023).

It showed that in 2022, the highest number of Indians wanted to buy 2BHK homes (45 per cent). In 2023, 37 per cent of Indians wanted to buy 2BHK homes.

These findings, based on a survey of 5,510 respondents across 14 Indian cities, were revealed at the FICCI Real Estate Summit in Delhi.

It also said that the preference change is despite the fact that 55 per cent of Indians continued to believe their disposable income had been "majorly" impacted by inflation. 

40 per cent believed that inflation had a "moderate" impact on their disposable income. Only 5 per cent said it was 'insignificant'.

The report said the demand for 3BHK homes was particularly high in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR. 

However, in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune, most people still preferred smaller homes.

According to Raj Menda, chairman of the FICCI Real Estate Committee and chair of the supervisory board at RMZ Corporation, there has also been a shift from renting to ownership.

"The realisation of the importance of owning a home, coupled with the favourable buying environment will continue to drive a strong homebuying sentiment," he said.

The reason for bigger homes may also be the growing preference towards open spaces. The report said that 75 per cent of Indians now want to have balconies in their homes.

31 per cent even want to have a separate office or study space in their homes.

"The hybrid work model is the key reason for this demand," added Anuj Puri, group chairman at Anarock.

Interestingly, there has also been a change in the purpose of buying a home. More people are now buying properties as investments than ever before.

In 2019, 33 per cent of Indians bought homes for investment. This dipped to 26 per cent in 2020. In the second half of 2023, it was 36 per cent.