Why buying your dream home this festive season makes perfect sense

By Angad Bedi, Managing Director, BCD Group

The festive season is upon us.  While many buyers have already made use of the auspicious Navratri festival to book their dream home, others plan to do so in the ongoing season that lasts till December. Traditionally, this is the period when developers make the highest number of sales. This is also the time when they offer the most lucrative discount offers to attract buyers.

Just like every year, India’s housing market is currently hot with a large variety of festive offers in which developers are offering complete stamp duty waivers, GST waiver, easy payment options, gold coins, etc., as part of the deal.

Despite the headwinds (the RBI has hiked benchmark lending rate by a cumulative 190 basis points; property rates have also risen across mega cities of the country, various industry and official reports show), we have every reason to believe that India’s residential real estate will perform remarkably well in the ongoing festive season. 

Should you buy now?

India’s housing market is currently standing at the crucial stage from where interest rates are expected to breach the 2019 level after future repo rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of India. If the data available with the RBI and National Housing Bank are any indicator, average value of property in India is also likely to rise exponentially in 2023 after a prolonged period of muted growth. Consequently, it makes perfect sense to buy a home of your dreams now in case you have been postponing doing this so far.

What is expected from a home this festive season?

Since buyer sentiment with regard to housing ownership is quite robust post-pandemic, most people are either looking for their first home or are planning to upgrade to a larger home with improved amenities and facilities to extract more out of their homes. As our homes turn into home-offices and home-gyms amid a tectonic shift in work policies, a lot more is now expected of our homes than it ever was.  

How to make the most of this festive season?

While offers are aplenty, home purchase decisions are much more complex than that, and freebies can’t be the most important factor influencing your opinion. When making a property purchase, probably the most important decision is to decide on a developer with proven credentials.

It makes perfect sense to recall here the fate of a large number of homebuyers who had invested in various projects of the now-insolvent builders, and have yet to get any respite despite years of struggle. Most of these developers make tall promises without having the financial wherewithal to deliver those promises. For future buyers, there are valuable lessons to be learnt from these examples. Even if you are going to invest in a ready-to-move unit from the existing inventory of a developer, it is important that you invest only with a well-known brand. One can’t overstate the importance of developer credibility, financial stability and their track record.

How to get the best home loan?

These days, banks judge buyer credibility through their credit score. Assigned in the range of 300 and 900, your credit score is an indicator how good you are in terms of dealing with money in general and debt in particular. Banks offer their best rate to customers with a credit score of 700 and above. Since your credit history can’t be developed in a day, work towards improving it from the time you realize its value. Even if your developer has partnered with a bank which would provide you with a loan, your credit score will still be the deal clincher when it comes to the best rate.

In case you are choosing a bank yourself, you would apply the same logic as with selecting a developer—go with a bank with proven credentials and ease of doing business; don’t get swayed completely by the rate of interest only.