Why ready-to-move-in homes are a better bet for homebuyers now

Gone are the days when homes under construction used to be much in demand and were the preferred option for homebuyers for a variety of reasons, including lower cost and wide availability. These days, however, ready-to-move-in homes have caught the fancy of buyers as they are unwilling to take any risk, particularly in these uncertain times.

Industry experts say that buying a house is characterized by complex buying behaviour given the cost of purchase and options available in the present context. For a major part of the last 5 years, the residential real estate market has been characterized by higher share of demand from end users and relatively subdued interest from the investor segment.

“As the nature of sales is largely driven by end users, the sale of ready homes has been on a rise. This is also because the market has been inundated by completed stock and the house seekers have options to choose from. The buyers of ready-to-move-in properties are completely aware of the product, its finishing, quality, workmanship and know exactly what they are buying with no room for ambiguity basis something shown in a sample flat,” says Ashutosh Kashyap, associate director, valuation & advisory services at Colliers International India.

Of late, the trend has also picked up because of the trust deficit of buyers with a large segment of developers with regards to delivery and quality of finished product at a future date.

In the present context, ready-to-move-in homes have gained momentum as the segment has witnessed clubbed sweetened deals in addition to the savings of GST on purchase of a completed project.

Developers also say that ready-to-move-in homes have become a better bet in the current scenario.

“While the lockdown resulting from the spread of Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the sales of residential units, the prospective homebuyers are in the process of evaluating buying opportunities, especially for ready-to-move-in homes as there is no development risk attached to it. Reduced interest rates along with the belief that the home prices have bottomed out are a few reasons for this. Also, the rupee’s recent depreciation has made real estate investments considerably attractive for NRIs, which has led to an increase in the enquiries from NRIs for such homes,” says Pankaj Bansal, Director, M3M Group.

Ashish Sarin, CEO, AlphaCorp, says, “In these trying times, actual buyers who intend to live in homes rather than selling them off or renting out are looking for ready-to-move-in homes. Investment in such homes help them avoid issues of delayed delivery and homebuyers get an assurance of what is committed by the developers. In the current scenario, the availability of ready homes with a rapid delivery procedure is subsequently making this the right time to invest.”