by Sachin Murdeshwar

Mumbai : Government’s push for affordable housing is yielding results as more and more home buyers are now preferring to buy properties upto Rs.50 lakh. A recentConsumer Poll conducted by Magicbricks, India’s No.1 property site, revealed that around 70% of India’s property buyers now prefer for properties within the Rs.50 lakh budget.

According to the poll, the most preferred budget segment wasRs.15 lakh – 20 lakh as 28% respondents voted for it while25% prefer the Rs.30 lakh-Rs.50 lakh budget. The budget segment of Rs.20 lakh – Rs.30 lakh and Rs.50 lakh – Rs.1 crore was preferred by 23% each of the respondents.

The poll was reflective of the consumer behaviour on Magicbricks as budget segments of Rs.20 lakh-30 lakh, Rs.30 lakh – 40 lakh, and Rs. 40 lakh – 50 lakh each accounted for 10% of the searches at the India level during the period of Q4 2019. Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under PMAY has led to increased buyer interest in the affordable and lower-mid segment.

 

Emerging localities in the price bracket of Rs.4000/sqft to Rs.5000/sqft observed the highest consumer interest on Magicbricks.

Commenting on the poll, Ms. E Jayashree Kurup, Head Content and Advisory, Magicbricks, said: “The recent launch of the Credit-linked Subsidy Services Awas Portal, (CLAP), has made it easier for consumers to track the status of their applications. This transparent and web-based monitoring system for tracking CLSS by beneficiaries is likely to add to the consumer excitement over being able to purchase affordable homes.”

 

Earlier many buyers had reported that they had to wait longer to avail the benefits of CLSS. CLAP will also be helpful in addressing the grievances of beneficiaries in a much comprehensive and organised manner.

 

Ms. Kurup added: “Buyers need to do a complete due diligence while buying flats in the affordable housing projects. The project in which they plan to buy should be RERA registered and have all approvals from government authorities. Buyers should also do a background check on the past projects of the developer and check the construction quality as well.”

The government of India has been pushing affordable housing through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) to provide ‘Housing for All by 2022’. Only 1% GST is levied on affordable housing projects costing upto Rs 45 lakh.

The Government’s Housing for All by 2022 vision has made affordable housing attractive for both buyers and developers. Many developers have started launching affordable housing projects, considering the policies push from the government. The poll results show that a large number of buyers are keen to buy properties costing less than Rs.50 lakh. Due to lower GST and the CLSS buyers prefer buying homes in such affordable housing projects.