A majority of prospective homebuyers want discounts, freebies and flexible payment options from builders to encourage them to purchase their flats as real estate continues to be the preferred asset class for investment, according to a joint survey by real estate portal Housing.Com and realty body NAREDCO.
The survey was conducted by the real estate portal between January and June among over 3,000 consumers. The survey report was released on Wednesday at a webinar.
According to the survey findings, real estate is the preferred mode of investment for 43 per cent (35 per cent last year) of respondents, followed by stocks 20 per cent (15 per cent last year), fixed deposit 19 per cent (22 per cent last year) and gold 18 per cent (28 per cent last year).
The majority of the respondents (71 per cent) feel that flexible payment plans and discounts will provide much-needed financial aid during current times and drive them to make purchase decisions.
Naredco President Niranjan Hiranandani said the builders are operating at thin margins but discounts and freebies are being offered by those developers who are stuck with more supply and also hlike debt repayment.
“The price of product is governed by demand-supply. If builders are locked with excess inventories, they do offer discounts. Discounts are also being given sometime as feel good factor to customers,” he added.
Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO of Housing.Com, Makaan.Com and PropTiger.Com, said the COVID-19 health crisis has reinforced the importance of home ownership across the world. “As a result, the residential real estate market is not only witnessing fresh demand from first time homebuyers but also from a lot of consumers who are upgrading to bigger apartments.