Falling Indian Rupee Attracts More NRIs to Indian Real Estate: ASSOCHAM Report

Chennai Ranks 2nd on list of property investment destination for NRIs

The Indian Rupee's sharp dip against the US dollar has made temptations for non-resident Indian (NRI) to buy property with realtors expecting an increase of 35 % in business enquiries from the expatriates this year (2013), reveals the associated chamber of commerce and industry of India (ASSOCHAM) recent findings.

Releasing the ASSOCHAM paper on “Falling Rupee sparks property boom from NRIs”

Mr. D. S. Rawat, Secretary General,  ASSOCHAM said, “With the rupee riding low against the US dollar, Indian residents are looking to accelerate investment plans back home”.

The rupee has fallen by nearly  34% against the US dollar since August 2011 and crossed 65 against the dollar.

 

The survey highlighted that Bangalore is the most favourite property investment destination for NRIs followed by

Chennai (2nd),

Mumbai (3rd),

Ahemdabad(4th),

Dehradun (5th).

A lot of Punjabis settled in Canada and UK are expected to invest more in Chandigarh sub-urban like Dera basi, Mohali and Panchukla.

This time, there is a lower demand for the Delhi-NCR market, adds the ASSOCHAM survey.

ASSOCHAM conducted a random survey of about 1,250 real estate developers in Delhi - NCR, Dera Basi, Mohali near chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Pune, Dehradun, Chennai etc...

 The survey reveals that interest for buying property by NRIs have increased due to favourable exchange rates.

“The Indian property developers are anticipating a 35 % surge in enquiries  to NRI - based purchasers as the rupee dip against the dollar past 6 months. The decline in rupee has increased property sales because people want to get value for their money”, added majority of developers.

Mr. Rawat also said, “It’s definitely not good news for people back at home, but for a NRI, this is definitely the best time to invest. At the moment any non-resident Indian buying a property in India can save around 20% to 30 % on his / or her property value.

 The enquiries may go up further if rupee continues to slide, adds majority of the real estate developers.

The majority of real estate developer said, the NRI traffic is coming primarily from the UAE or / or Gulf region, US, Singapore, Australia, UK, Canada, South-Africa etc. The demand is more for high end properties and commercial buildings.

As per the recent estimates, about 50 lac Indian expatriates live in the 6 Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia &  the UAE, and they remit close to $ 3,000 crore to India every year &  have been growing over the years.

Buying a property back home is the top-most priority of every NRI, at least for those living in the foreign countries as the weakening rupee has given an impetus to fulfill that objective, added 75 % of the real estate developers.

The Indian developers are optimistic & expecting to get a good number of booking this year. Their confidence is based on the fact that the rupee is plunging and has fallen 35% in last one year, adds the survey.

The enquiries from NRIs especially from the Middle-East, Europe, the US & Singapore for buying property in India have also risen by 20% to 25% following the rupee's depreciation.

The record decline in the value of the Indian rupee and the sluggish realty market, proved to be a double delight for overseas Indians investing in property here, adds the Secretary General.

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