Will Diwali 2021 boost real estate sales in India?

Among numerous blessings that Diwali signifies, the most important is homecoming. The warmth of being at home, being reunited with your loved ones, is a precious and inexplicable feeling. The run-up weeks to Diwali and the subsequent ones are specifically bustling with joy and reflect festivities. With the entire population thrown out of gear during the Covid pandemic, and even traditional enterprises shifting to work from home models, the importance of checking one’s home loan eligibility, is more prominent than ever now.

As per a recent study conducted by Yougov, 35% of Indians in the age group of 25-44 years, intend to purchase a home this festive season. If we look at the market trends, real estate is certainly in a recovery phase, and Diwali will act as a catalyst in this recovery. Here are a few factors listed out to illustrate why this year’s Diwali may bring in some good news for the real estate sector:

• Festive season

Diwali is an auspicious time to make an investment, and this is the best time for the prospective homebuyers as all factors are working in their favor to align their wish with the reality. Property rates are stable, home loan interest rates are at an all-time low, and builders are introducing festive offers to propel demand and create a win-win situation for all. Moreover, the availability of online home loan EMI calculators, and calculation of Home loan eligibility, without having to visit any office, has added to customer convenience. Being the celebration of investment, this Diwali may bring some brightness to the real estate sector as well as the homebuyers.

• COVID induced changes

Prospective home buyers, who have deferred their plan to purchase a house due to COVID, are now eager to materialize their decision before Diwali. As per a recent research report by ANAROCK, the Q3 2021 has already ushered in a lot of optimism for the nation’s top 7 cities witnessing a surge of 113 % in housing sales. Further, COVID has led the existing homeowners to consider upgrading their residence, given the new and changed scenario of work from home.  People owning a house already, are looking forward to moving into a bigger and more spacious house, to accommodate the changed scenario. Since attending to work has now become location agnostic, the dependency on metros is also no longer there.  All that a family needs in their home is a space for elders’ engagement, and children’s homeschool along with an office space for them for WFH.  Hence, nearby locations, as well as smaller cities, are likely to witness accelerated growth in the coming months.

• Regulatory enablers

The regulatory framework is also working towards making property buying and financing user-friendly. Existence of low home loan interest rates, relaxation in home loan norms by banks and some states reducing the stamp duty are some key enablers providing the customers the necessary push to finalize their decision of purchasing a home.  Not only this, RBI’s move to cut its repo rate to 4% is also seen as a customer friendly move, triggering a chain reaction by banks to cut their Home loan interest rates.

The road ahead

The backdrop is set and there are enough enablers around to fuel the upward movement of real estate sales. Diwali is the season of hope, new beginnings and progress towards converting goals into milestones. Perhaps, many will do exactly this during the upcoming festive season, with the demand drivers in place, like affordable homes, low home loan interest rates, favorable regulatory framework, and above all—an auspicious occasion.