Women Are Key Homebuyers, ~71% Want Ready Homes

In Indian real estate, every day is Women’s Day now! On the journey from being part of the home buying process to driving it, today's financially strong Indian women emerged as a powerful demographic in ANAROCK's latest consumer

BY Realty Plus
Published - Tuesday, 09 Mar, 2021

Women Are Key Homebuyers, ~71% Want Ready Homes

In Indian real estate, every day is Women’s Day now! On the journey from being part of the home buying process to driving it, today's financially strong Indian women emerged as a powerful demographic in ANAROCK's latest consumer sentiment survey published in February 2021. Interestingly, women’s preference for real estate has risen post-COVID-19 – from 57% votes in the pre-COVID survey to 62% in the current edition. Of the total of 3,900 survey participants, 36% of respondents were women and among these, at least 70% consider the current time as ideal for buying a home. Their main sentiment drivers - housing affordability is currently optimal, developers' offers and discounts are attractive, and home loan rates are at a 15-year low. Most surveyed women respondents (82%) plan to buy a home for their personal use, and 18% for investment. Among men respondents, the end-use to investment ratio was 68:32. Interestingly, women’s preference for real estate has risen post-COVID-19 – from 57% votes in the pre-COVID survey to 62% in the current edition. Of the total of 3,900 survey participants, 36% of respondents were women and among these, at least 70% consider the current time as ideal for buying a home. Their main sentiment drivers - housing affordability is currently optimal, developers' offers and discounts are attractive, and home loan rates are at a 15-year low. Most surveyed women respondents (82%) plan to buy a home for their personal use, and 18% for investment. Among men respondents, the end-use to investment ratio was 68:32. The survey also revealed that most polled women homebuyers prefer ready-to-move-in homes, reflecting a strong aversion to the perceived investment risk of under-construction properties. Nearly 71% of women respondents want to buy ready homes, followed by 11% each for homes that will be available for possession in the next 6 months, and newly-launched projects. If we consider the overall survey results for both genders, ready homes had 29% votes in their favour. While most women preferred properties priced within INR 90 lakh (at least 66% women homebuyers), 5% voted for ultra-luxury real estate priced >INR 2.5 Crore. In the overall survey, the 2BHK was the most-preferred configuration - but further analysis reveals that most women preferred higher BHK-configurations. At least 46% of women favoured 3BHKs, and only 30% were scouting for 2BHKs. Interestingly, 10% were also looking for 4BHKs. The psychological assurance of physical assets influences 31% of women homebuyers; 28% responded favourably towards the availability of cheaper home loans, and 22% will buy homes because of ongoing offers and deals by developers.