Month: January 2021

Real Estate in 2021: What We Can Expect

Real estate has been one of the sectors that was hit hard during the Covid-19 in 2020. However, it has managed to take the uphill ride and is now expecting some real advances in the new year ahead.

What changes will the real estate sector face in 2021? Here’s a short synopsis to what we expect in the year ahead.

 

Consuming overtakes Investing

Over the years, millennials had begun to favour rentals rather than buying their own, thus shifting from the convention of settling down at a place they can call theirs’. With the year 2020 showing us the tougher aspects of life, people have realized the need to own a home, especially when working in a metropolitan city such as Kolkata. With the advent of remote working option post-Covid and the workplace shifting to home, people are looking for spacious homes to stay rather than rent out or invest in. The trend of staying close to workplace has now been replaced with looking for apartments with added amenities away from the hustle-bustle of the city. Apartments in the outskirts of the main cities tagged with luxury amenities are gaining preference with passing time and changing scenarios. Buyers are now keen on residing in gated communities with proper security facilities with day to day amenities nearby.

 

Sales Drive by Confident Builders

Real estate developers with sturdy economic background shall have an upper-hand in the market. Companies such as Realtech Nirman have been unaffected by the pandemic and economic crisis due to their strong capital background. Smaller and weaker businesses shall be taken over by other market rulers. Technologically pronounced businesses shall be in the game for longer than expected bringing in better customer satisfaction and efficiency.

 

Alterations at Workplace

Although the effect of the pandemic on commercial real estate due to work from home policies have been evident, residential real estate have been benefitted from the same. Demand for residential real estate have been rising especially after the home loan revised rates have been announced along with added tax advantages. Commercial real estate catering to especially the IT/ITeS companies are now returning to the hub and spoke model with sanitization and social distancing gaining priority over spacious office rooms and large workplaces post Covid.

 

NRIs will continue to invest on Residential Real Estate

NRI investors are interested in the Indian residential real estate now more than ever since the pandemic struck worldwide. Most NRIs are now reconsidering staying abroad away from family after such a long separation from them in times when they needed their loved ones close to them. After so many job cuts and salary slicing in majority companies, they are now looking forward to returning home where they can be financially and emotionally more secure than during Covid times. NRIs investing on real estate is not new, but it will definitely see an up-rise in 2021

 

Space-Saving Furniture Ideas for Small Apartments

Relocating to a big metropolitan city has its own pros and cons. On one hand, you are amidst the most happening place all the time. On the other hand, space crunch is the trouble you don’t know how to come out of. Too many stuffs, no space for excess and even the minimum? Time has come for your furniture start serving double time.

Welcome to space-saving furniture ideas. Use that space under the bed, on the wall, behind the door to better use.

Upholstered beds with Storage

 

Beds are the ones taking the most space leaving too little for the rest of the furniture to let them do their duties. However, it is also something you cannot afford to compromise with. Many people make the mistake of skipping the bed and using only the mattress to make a bed on the floor. Instead, use the bed to store your warm clothes, extra pillows, bags, and much more by choosing an upholstered bed with storage. It is not only beautiful but also helps you hide the mess completely.
Moving to a new city can be challenging for parents as they also need to make up the minds of their children for the change. While one cannot help the kids to cheer up from day one, you can always try to give them extra playroom by making a small change to their bedroom. Use trundle beds that saves the space that would otherwise be taken up by another bed for the sibling. It also comes with shelves that you can use to notebooks to keep them handy.

Trundle beds for the Siblings

 

Sofa-cum-bed to the rescue

 

 

Shifting to some place new doesn’t mean you won’t have guests. Where do you plan to give them a place to sleep when they stay overnight? Of course you don’t have extra room for another bed. Here comes sofa-cum-bed to your rescue. A three-seater sofa can serve as a comfortable bed for two adults and a child if at all you have to give away your room for some nights.

Living in a studio apartment can have its own pleasures. Only until you need a space for storage and can’t find one. Sofas with storage systems underneath are bliss. Latest sofas come with drawers and easy to manage organisers built in them. They are extremely good space savers. You can also use them to store your extra footwears.

Sofa with storage for the Singles

 

See the Sink?

 

The space below the sink can be used to fit in wire racks and arrange your cleaning supplies and other daily use products such as cleaning brushes, etc. It is wise to buy some wire racks that can easily fit in two rows so you can use the space to the fullest.

A nested coffee table is a huge space saver and also adds to the oomph of your small apartment. A good low coffee table can also serve dual purpose of a dining table for those who has no space left for one. A nested table saves that extra space taken up by the chairs when not being used. Look out for dining tables with nested chairs too.

Coffee table with nested stools

 

Shoe racks with resting top

 

We usually face trouble tying shoe laces while upright and its always easier when you have a resting place to wear them. Opt for compact shoe racks with a resting top that saves space, looks great and is also a good buy.

Keep an eye on the page for more ideas for your home.

Should I Invest in Real Estate?: Part II

In our last blog, we discussed about what one should be concerned before taking the first step into real estate investment. Moving on to some more details in this blog where we talk about active and passive investments in real estate.

Read Should I Invest in Real Estate?: Part I

What is Active Investment in real estate?

A property (single-family home or a bigger property for multiple holdings) purchased by an investor for rental cash-flow or to refurbish and sell for earning profit out of it is an Active investment. The investor is involved from the very beginning of the deal, that is, searching the property, procuring funding, guaranteeing the loan and eventually managing the funding. The whole process can be pretty demanding but at the same time gives good return on investment.

Things to consider before diving into active real estate investment:

What amount of capital does one need to begin with and in future?

One of the very basic question one should consider when trying hands on active investment is funding. An active real estate investment involves the following areas of capital requirements:

»Buying a property (land or building)

»Renovation or repair works

»Ongoing costs (Property taxes, Home Insurance, Mortgage Insurance)

»Operational costs

It is also very important to determine the asset type and investment strategy for one’s given market with residential real estate being the most obvious and opted for asset for direct investment. However, one should do a thorough research of whether retail or working place assets can be a promising investment in their respective area. In current situation where the pandemic has changed the way we look at life altogether, office spaces are losing their value due to more people working from home and therefore investing in residential apartments.

It is critical for someone planning to invest actively to have a good understanding of the city, local opportunities and risks involved in the process beforehand.

 

What is Passive Investment in real estate?

 

Another latent approach to real estate investment in which an investor outsources the selection and management of properties to a sponsor who are responsible for bringing in funds from various investors to purchase bigger or an entire property or project is Passive Investment. In this specific business plans and operations are managed by the sponsors who report back to the investors.

Things to consider before diving into passive investment:

»Confirmation of investors are permitted

»Performance history of the investment manager

»Preparedness in case of a downturn of the market

»Justification of the service fee structure

»Tracking and managing investment post the handover

»Choose that serves you better-public market portfolio or private market fund

Active vs Passive Investment

 

The path to become a successful real estate investor are many, but what leads you to success is the most suitable path for you. There are pros and cons in both active and passive investments. Ideally, those who have time, access to cash flow and are capable of team building are most suited for active investment. A working professional or entrepreneur with limited time can always choose to partner with a syndicator and invest passively to diversify their portfolios. It also will help them to generate passive income with minimal effort.