Abu Dhabi: The Indian real estate market has expanded dramatically in recent years, owing to strong economic growth, rising disposable income levels, and a growing population. In addition, the Indian real estate market is highly appealing, with high returns and a long-term investment perspective. Furthermore, the Indian real estate sector is seeing a healthy level of foreign interest, which piques the interest of GCC-based NRIs. While demand for real estate in the country is relatively high, supply is increasing at a healthy rate, pushing up prices. The depreciation of the rupee, combined with the geopolitical situation and rising international interest rates, has prompted increased foreign real estate investment.
The Indian government has launched a number of initiatives to make it easier for NRIs to buy property in India. For example, the government has made it simpler for NRIs to obtain a real estate investment licence, implemented a negative equity facility for real estate purchases, and made interest-free loans available for self-financing real estate transactions. These initiatives have made doing business in the real estate sector easier and more appealing to NRIs. Additionally, there are a number of real estate companies that offer NRIs and expatriates services such as property financing, tax consultancy, and so on, making it easier for you to invest in Indian real estate.
Sharing insights Aakash Ohri, Group Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, DLF Home Developers Ltd shared “When it comes to NRI investments in Indian real estate, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) remains a key one. Investments from the GCC as a whole account for close to 41 percent of the global contribution. In the last two years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of NRIs looking to buy a home in India, and pent-up demand has begun to emerge. Factors like a simplified taxation regime and indexation benefit for properties held in India encourage NRI buyers to park their surplus money in India. Other major decision drivers are factors like lower home loan interest, favorable currency movement, digitization of procedures, and transparent regulations”.
NRIs continue to prefer metro cities in India such as Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Chennai. However, NRI investors have recently focused on emerging cities such as Chandigarh, Panchkula, Goa, and Kochi. Among these, Delhi NCR is attracting a sizable portion of NRI investment in Indian real estate. Because of its well-developed infrastructure and thriving social fabric, Gurgaon in particular has become a popular investment destination for NRIs and expats.
Talking about the kind of product categories these NRI’s based out of UAE prefer Aakash Ohri shared “While the demand cuts across geographies and product categories, a substantial demand has been coming for homes in luxury segment and above, in projects that offer amenities and facilities at par with global standards. High rises, part of a luxury condominiums located at metro cities like Delhi, Gurgaon have always been the preferred choice of NRI’s”
Indian developers have been receiving a healthy demand from the UAE based NRI’s especially for luxury and super luxury properties. This has led leading Indian developers like DLF Ltd extensively outreach the UAE based NRI’s through various initiatives. DLF for instance is not only creating awareness about its offerings but also the industry at large, also offering UAE based NRI’s real-time support, across all time-zones to help them with any queries towards their investment decision. According to reports, DLF is preparing to launch its latest luxury project in Gurgaon, and NRIs based in the UAE have expressed strong interest in the upcoming project, as it’s after a couple of years DLF is launching a luxury high-rise project in Gurgaon.