COVID-19 Hits Mohali Real Estate Market

Indian real estate market has seen rock bottom with the global pandemic of COVID-19. As we all know the market was already hit by demonetization and commencement of RERA in the year 2016 and only recently was retrieving again but this pandemic has made it difficult for this sector to recover.

The first half of this year has not been easy for anyone in the whole world. Some people lost their jobs, some people had to leave their places to go back to their hometown, the country was under lockdown. In such a situation it was very difficult for builders to sell homes to people. We have all seen the shift of priority from buying a home to staying safe.

There is no doubt that every person has realized the importance of having their own home due to coronavirus, but due to lockdown and requirement of maintaining social distancing builders have not been very successful in making sales. In an interview, Tejinder Singh Punia, former president of the Mohali Property Consultant Group says that ‘In the first two quarters of this year with property prices falling by at least 10 percent, demand has reached a new low’. Though with the festival season approaching developers are hoping for some boost in real estate.

Effects of the pandemic on the Mohali real estate market:

• Mohali is an employment and educational hub but due to lockdown all the institutions are shut and some people have lost their job. People don’t have the resources to make property investments.
• As some people wait for clarification on job stability, even prospective home buyers are likely to delay their purchased property decisions.
• The main aim of people has shifted to staying safe and is not considering to buy property in Mohali.
• The construction of the new project has been ceased due to the unavailability of workers and restriction on the number of persons to stay in one place.
• Liquidity crunch, growing construction material costs, and the migration of state laborers are vying for the production of inventory. It will take some time before construction plans normalize, even though employees are back.
• The coronavirus has resulted in the closing of retail and entertainment outlets in Malls, which may place potential commercial real estate on hold.
• Globally, businesses have announced remote work for staff to limit the spread of COVID-19, so office utilization rates may decrease as remote work increases.

These were some of the major pandemic blues which affected the Mohali real estate market the most.

Although several macro-economic indicators receive a significant trend in September, developers may well be on the path to a more sustainable recovery and it will be crucial for the upcoming festival season to assess the industry’s growth outlook over the next 12 months.

On the brighter side for the Mohali real estate market:

• Constructors are hopeful that the situation will improve soon, as home loan interest rates are at their lowest level in nearly two decades. They expect the change to increase demand from renting to owning a home.
• A sudden shift in demand has been seen in Ready to move properties. With the gradual relaxation and unlocking of different sectors slowly people are considering purchasing a property in good and safe localities.
• The interest rates have fallen below 7% now. A further decrease in interest rates is expected, making buying a house cheaper. It would make sense for individuals residing in rental properties in Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula to pay the EMI home loan rather than the monthly rent.
• Tanu Kashyap, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA)’s Chief Administrator, is also committed to supporting this sector’s activities. They have paid a great deal of attention to the requirements of the various players in the sector since the Covid-19 pandemic and its position. Many concessions and incentives for the industry have already been declared by the Punjab government. Other legislative and policy changes, which will be announced in due course, will also be made. It is expected that GMADA will also be providing real estate to stimulate commercial investment in this field in the near future.
• Due to the pandemic, the developers have started using digital methods for tours (virtual home tours), webinars, etc to attract potential customers and are also working on making their social media presence.

This pandemic has changed the way real estate was seen, now with the change in living and working culture of people the demand for the type of property has also changed. As people are now mostly working from homes, they need more space inside the house to make it their working space. People who want to buy a home are mostly looking for ready to move property as waiting for the completion of new projects is not what they want in the current scenario.

Remote working to gain potential momentum as corporations adopt work from home culture. In order to make them more prepared for crisis situations, higher investment in future office spaces is likely. In addition, in the midst of a rupee decrease, NRI investment in real estate may increase.

SBP Group believes that as much as this pandemic has adversely affected everyone, it will help in the recovery of the realty market soon and with the festive season around the corner, developers are providing great offers to make sales and it will benefit in the retrieval of this sector.

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