Personally we, a real estate marketing firm in Kandivali, Mumbai since past 30 years with our experience and our knowledge feel that the scenario is not as bleak as its being portrayed in the media or the way there is a buzz in the air. Agreed that the COVID-19 and lockdown has impacted the economy in this short term significantly, but here we are, with some different view

Firstly we would like to state an example to bring some positivity amongst our readers.

• As per ‘Business Today’ and other newspapers Godrej Properties have a terrific record during this lockdown phase, they have posted their highest ever sales in Q4. Yes you read it right! They have managed to sell 500+ homes using the digital platform.
• As per ‘Business Outlook’, Square Yards, a real estate broking firm sold housing units worth Rs.200 Cr in 10 days of lock down. This is shocking but true.
• Anarock, real estate broking firm registered sale worth Rs.252Cr. till 21st April as per CNBCTV18.

Most of the potential buyers think that the real estate prices will drop. We would ask why would it drop? Yes, we agree that the sales will be slow, but that is because the people post lockdown will reset their businesses and focus on their jobs for a couple of months. We would rather say, the value and importance of home is now more than ever amongst the people around.

• Many families staying in a small place now realize the importance of buying a bigger space
• People living on rent will realize the importance of having their own home
• Families living together in this lockdown understand that they ain’t compatible for living together in future and it’s important to buy different apartments
• NRI customers might be coming back to their home country or at least park the money in India property market to make it safe
• The interest rates are decreasing on fixed deposits, stock market is always volatile, gold is volatile but when you buy a property, the value does not drop by such a huge amount like elsewhere.
• The dollar-rupee war will help the NRI to park money back in India
• The Government is taking many steps by giving reliefs to banks, NBFCs, financial institutions which will help the construction to go on in speed, and will boost the realtors.
• The Government is also planning to come up with various boosters for the end user eg. Home loan moratorium, might decrease the stamp duty or GST, or maybe other benefit in short time
• There is already a steep decrease in home loan rates, which the buyers can avail
• Launches will be slow for the next few months which will again reduce the supply, so we see a good business in real estate post Q2 of 2020-21

If you do not buy a home when the prices are at its bottom then when will you buy it? It’s now or never! Do not try bottom fishing. This is the best opportunity to buy your apartment if you have liquidity or a good loan eligibility (post lockdown obviously).

We as a company agree that the industry will be impacted, but we would rather focus on adaptation rather than considering it as a downfall. One needs to adapt and change the way sales and operations are being conducted. Going forward, digital media will be playing a very important role right from lead generation to payment and possession. The way you speak to customers will also change than it was before. So adaptation is necessary in order to survive this massacre.

Some reasons due to which the initial 3-4 months will be slow are

• Sentiments that the price will decrease
• People might lose their job and or would have made losses in their businesses due to lockdown and virus, so they will be busy setting up their own jobs and business respectively
• Scarcity of liquidity in short term
• Construction workers might not return back quickly and many who are stuck, example like in Mumbai would want to go back to their hometown post lockdown and they will not come back soon

So, summarizing the whole article, we would say that yes, the real estate industry like many other industries will be impacted for the short term but we feel that it will bounce back strongly post Q2 of 2020-21. The demand will increase post monsoon, the supply would be less and our ecosystem of Real Estate would be balanced soon. Till then, stay home, stay safe.

For any further assistance or information comment below or you can contact us on sales@urbanspacerealty.in / www.urbanspacerealty.in

We are an experienced Real Estate firm for more than 3 decades.

This article has been prepared by Bhupendra Pathare, Site Sales Manager of Urban Space Realty. These ideologies are edited by Karan Shah, Partner of Urban Space Realty. Please note that these are our personal views on the impacts of COVID-19 on Real Estate. You are advised to take opinions of other experts if needed for the above mentioned guidelines. We are not responsible for any reliance placed on the content mentioned above.