Amidst deals, discounts and cheaper home loans, nearly 62% of respondents in the CII-ANAROCK COVID-19 Sentiment Survey consider it expedient to buy homes right away. 24% respondents have already booked properties (81% of these segments were previously unsure of buying) and 38% opted for newly-launched projects. The report was unveiled today by CII and knowledge partner ANAROCK at the 3rd CII Real Estate Confluence themed 'Indian Real Estate Vision 2025'.
 
Real estate's popularity as an investment asset class increased perceptibly post COVID-19. About 57% respondents now favour property over fixed deposits, the stock market, and gold. 59% property-favouring respondents were convinced after the pandemic unfolded, after riding the fence of uncertainty before COVID-19.
 

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Anuj Puri, Chairman - CII Real Estate Confluence 2021 and Chairman - ANAROCK Property Consultants says that the survey underscores the massive impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had on home-buying decisions. The work-from-home and online education culture has resulted in buyers seeking larger homes, even if it entails moving to peripheral areas. Surprisingly, new launches are gaining traction post-COVID. 26% of the survey's respondents will opt for homes in newly-launched projects, which is an increase of 4% over the pre-COVID period.”
 
Equally surprisingly, there was a decrease in the preference for ready-to-move-in homes – a reduction of at least 17% since the lockdowns and 6% since the pre-COVID levels. This is vouchsafed by data from ANAROCK's consumer sentiment surveys done before and during the height of the pandemic in May 2020.
 
One major factor for this could be that post-COVID, new supply was largely by branded developers,says Puri. Homebuyers consider it safe to buy from strong organized players. Also, there is limited inventory available in the ready to move category.
 
In terms of consumer preferences, demand for bigger homes across all BHK configurations has risen post-COVID. 2BHKs continue to be the hot favourite; however, buyers are now also on the market for larger sizes. 69% of the survey's property-favouring respondents now prefer bigger 2BHKs (>600 sq. ft. area) vis-à-vis just 38% in the pre-COVID period. Previously, 62% of buyers preferred compact 2BHK units sized within 600 sq. ft. area.