Housing.com’s IRIS index, a leading indicator of upcoming demand in 42 key cities of India, eased to 102 points in July 2022 from 113 points in the preceding month. While the online property search volume has moderated in July 2022, the leading indicators have sustained their growth momentum. The Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) for services and manufacturing has removed above the 50-mark in July 2022. The unemployment rate is at a 6-month low at 6.8 per cent lending optimism to the future earnings of the consumer. Consumer sentiments for the current situation for the economy, income, and spending are at the highest since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic according to the central bank’s consumer confidence survey for July 2022.
Hence, despite easing sequentially by 11 points, the IRIS index remains above the low of 93 points witnessed in May 2022 on the back of geo-political conflict and global uncertainties. As the pandemic has brought the focus on habitability along with the flexibility on the back of the hybrid working policy, homebuyers have intensified their searches in the Tier 2 cities, with cities such as Jaipur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Patna, and Guwahati have been trending on the list of top-10 cities along with top metros such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Pune. The search trends indicate that 61 per cent of the homebuyers in top eight cities are looking for apartments, while the share is 40 per cent in the case of Tier 2 cities, where a significant 39 per cent of buyers are also looking for independent houses and plots.
Hyderabad registered the highest dip in rank amongst the top eight cities on the IRIS index
Hyderabad registered a drop of 6 points in its rank, the steepest amongst the top eight cities. The city which was trending in the top-5 since last year has witnessed a continuous downtick in its rank since April 2022. Most of the buyers in the city are looking for apartments in localities such as Kondapur, Miyapur, and Kukatpally. Homebuyers are looking for properties with a 2BHK and 3BHK configuration in INR 50 lakh-1 crore price bracket.
Along with Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai amongst the top eight cities have witnessed a sequential drop of 3 points each in their rank in July 2022. Kolkata slid to the 15th position from the 12th position in the previous month. Homebuyers in Kolkata are searching for properties in the locales of Krishna Reddy Pet, Bachupally, and Kondapur with 2BHK and 3BHK configurations. The majority of the searches and queries in the city are for apartments in the price bracket of INR 50 lakh-1 crore, closely followed by INR 1-2 crore price range.
In the case of Chennai, which is currently ranked at 17th position on the IRIS index, maximum searches and queries were for apartments located in micro markets of Avadi, Madipakkam, and Maraimalai Nagar. Properties with 2BHK and 3BHK configurations in INR 50 lakh-1 crore were most searched for in Chennai during July.
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Jaipur takes the third spot amongst the top 20 cities with the maximum online property search volume
Amongst the Tier 2 cities, Jaipur, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, has maintained its position in the top 10 cities witnessing maximum high-intent online property search activity. Jaipur is the administrative hub of Rajasthan, with tourism, manufacturing, trade, and commerce being the key economic drivers of the city. Being a prominent tourist center in the north and a gateway to other tourist centers in the state such as Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Bikaner, the city hosts its own international airport.
Although, in recent years, the focus is now shifting from the manufacturing and tourism sectors to the services sector. For instance, the IT zone of Mahindra World City in Jaipur is home to multinational organizations such as Infosys, Wipro, Deutsche Bank, ICICI Bank, and others. The robust connectivity has also made Jaipur a preferred destination for setting up Knowledge Process Centre (KPO), and warehousing center in the region. All these factors have trickled down in the residential real estate in the city where the majority of the home searches are concentrated in the localities such as Vaishali Nagar, Jagatpura, and Mansarovar. Buyers in Jaipur are looking for properties with 3BHK configuration in the price bracket of less than INR 50 lakh.
In a nutshell, the online property search volume has moderated sequentially in July 2022. However, the leading indicators have sustained growth momentum signaling a positive turnaround for the coming months. Also, while the hike in property prices and interest rates have to an extent overshadowed the homebuyer sentiments, the pandemic-driven thrust to homeownership will continue to drive demand across key cities in India.
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Renuka Kulkarni, a seasoned real estate professional, brings over five years of diverse experience in research, consulting, and architectural design within the urban sector. Her expertise spans public and private projects, showcasing proficiency in real estate research, trend interpretation, and policy analysis. With qualifications in architecture and a master’s degree in Data Science (Business Intelligence & Data Analytics) from IIIT Bengaluru, along with an M. Tech in Urban Development and Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, Renuka seamlessly blends data analytics with market insights, offering a holistic understanding of the industry in her research pieces.
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