Residential real estate has seen homebuyers returning to the market in the previous quarter post an initial set back amid salary cuts and job losses. A major transition to work from home due to pandemic has impacted home buyer’s choices too. Post July 2020, larger and more spacious homes have witnessed increased demands among property seekers. Reports of renewed interest of genuine home buyers who wanted to benefit from low home loan rates and reduced real estate prices have led to improved demands in the real estate market.

However, a new wave of rising demand for spacious homes with extended benefits like jogging area, swimming pools, co-working spaces, and other amenities have been popularizing recently due to the transition of work from home. Most working class now prefers 3 BHK over 2 BHK as they have to spend more time at home now than before and require a separate allocation for work space for better working from home conditions. Almost 64% of total enquiries ask for 2.5 or 3 BHK while the demand for 1 BHK near office area have been decreasing since January 2020.

With the work from home policy now becoming commonly accepted by most multinational companies, homebuyers now look for better lifestyle at more affordable prices.

Reverse migration has also been observed leading to rising demand for residential properties in tier II cities as remote working take over. Those working in cities away from home are now better decided to invest in a property in their hometown as the need for physical presence minimizes. People staying in rented properties for a long time due to uncertainty of their work location have now been moving to ready to move properties or are looking for investing in their own apartment.

Niharika Sen, an IT professional, based out of Kolkata says, “remote working since the pandemic has struck made me realize the need for space. Our organisation has made remote working permanent for all employees while we may have to travel to office once in 2-3 months. Now I am free to stay with my family at Kolkata and continue my job at the same time.”

It is safe to say that the work from home shift has altered the homebuyers’ perspective quite a lot. Those looking forward to investing in properties in Kolkata are now looking for apartments that define a lifestyle rather than just settling for lower costs. Search for a better locality, more spacious homes, array of amenities and proper security facilities now hold higher importance while buying a new property. Workplace or commute time is no longer a hindrance to owning one’s dream home.

While work from home is definitely the future, one must always keep in mind the need to stay close to one’s workplace.

The pandemic has limited our options this festive season but our spirits are high and we won’t lose hope. This Diwali create your own décor by making decorative pieces on your own using easily available craft items. Here are some ideas that you can do all by yourself to celebrate this year’s festival of lights.

Hula Hoop for a Chandelier Diwali decoration without string lights is incomplete. You can use the string lights in a different way to decorate the living room by making a hula-hoop chandelier. To make a hula-hoop chandelier, wind the string lights around the hula-hoop and hang it from the ceiling. This makes for a beautiful and quick festive décor item for both outdoor and indoor.
	Thread Lanterns for the rustic touch Thread lanterns give your festive décor a rustic as well as warm look. This simple and easy decorative item needs glue, balloons, cotton yarn and water. Add little water to glue in a bowl and put the yarn in it. Keep it aside for some time. Now inflate a balloon and wind the yarn around it in random manner. When the glue dries, burst the balloon with the help of a pin and insert string lights in it. Hang them in the balcony or on the rooftop area.
String lights around the greens Light up your garden and arrange for a tea table to welcome your guests this Diwali. If you have hanging pots in your balcony, make the most of it and light up your home from the outside by winding string lights in any pattern you like around the potted greens.
	Cut it out yourself Carve diyas on colourful craft papers to make festoons. You can hang these at your main door, living room empty wall or in the puja room to add colour to the festival of lights. Children usually find this very engaging and love to participate in the pre-Diwali preparations doing such crafts.
Flowers of papercones Skip the rangoli this year and decorate your floor with a paper cone flower. Take colourful craft paper and fold them into cones. Now arrange them like a flower in a circular pattern and glue them at their sharp ends onto a cardboard cut into a circle. You can also use smaller ones to decorate the center table or stick them to the doors.
	Beach memoirs can be handy If you have small conch shells at home, your décor can make a statement. Fill the empty side of the shell with hot wax, dip a wick and wait for it to cool. Light them up on the window sill or on the center table and feel the warmth of the festive season.
Flowers to the rescue Decorate your living room floor with a colourful floral rangoli. Use petals of flowers of various colours to make patterns on the floor and say no to the hassles of making the usual rangoli. Try using whole flowers and garlands instead of petals. It is easier and takes much less of your time.
	The tailor-made perfect picture background What is Diwali without a good click with family and friends? And what is a good picture without the proper background? Make a custom background for this Diwali using your choice of colourful, glittery and lustrous sequins and tassels. Make a string of sequins and tassels and hang it on an empty wall with fairy lights to light up the background to make for the perfect night light click.

Digital platforms will form a strong foundation for realty businesses in the future and upcoming technologies will create a seamless buying experience for homebuyers.

The real estate sector has been prompt in adapting to the new normal and implementation of technology to assist them get back on their tracks much sooner than expected. While low home loan rates encouraged buyers to invest in residential properties in Kolkata and other metropolitan cities, the developers too have been able to equip themselves with the help of digitisation, which was the need of the hour. This was also backed by the policy makers, who made it easier to revive this sector. Quick response to the changing scenario helped them gear up post lockdown and make sure that quality of service was not impacted due to the pandemic.

Due to the emergence of work from home culture, home seekers looking for 2 BHK configuration are now looking for 3 BHK or at least a 2.5 BHK to accommodate a work space. Developers facing this changing demand did not face much of a problem when they were open to customer preferences. Keeping a track of latest shifts in the market became easy with digitisation.

Customer satisfaction is the key to creating business policies and gives a direction to launching new projects in future. Keeping this in mind, developers should carve a customised plan to engage prospective clients and cater to their choices.

The Change Is Here To Stay

Technology has brought a revolution in the way business is done at present. The change is an ongoing one and keeping pace with it is the best way to stay ahead in the competition. Consumers are now more active on digital media platforms. In the times to come, as an outcome of the pandemic, digitisation shall be an integral part of business.

When the crisis subsides, a large part, or may be it is safe to say, every process involved in business will be done online. To begin with, we have already been thorough with online payment processes. Most of the post sales activities are already being done online. Building customer relations and network has also become an online activity with the help of social media. Conversational AI such as chatbots, are the most common form of tool to interact with prospective buyers or those seeking information about their property of interest. Developers should make constant efforts to keep contact with the clients through various online conference platforms during times when stepping outside their home is something people are skeptical about.

Virtual site visits, online bookings and payments and registration shall become the new normal even after the situation returns to its previous phase. The change has not only been adapted by developers, but also home buyers are welcoming digitisation. They prefer to have a video conference with their sales executive to get their queries answered rather than step outside to make a visit to the site themselves.

The way real estate has been operating so far will be completely altered due to the sudden change in circumstances.

Even the state has been open to the digitisation of most complicated processes and has announced e-registration of property documents. Some vital registration processes that includes documents verification and stamp duty payment can now be done online from one’s home. Home buyers opting for the online payment processes are also being offered heavy discounts to attract more such buyers to take up the process. Some developers who were unable to give property handovers of their completed projects can now register the sale deed.

To cope with the current crisis and urgency of registration of properties, the state has decided to begin e-registration process with which home owners can submit their e-deed online and get a provisional digital certificate which is valid in any part of the country. To complete the process with the biometric identification, home buyers can visit the registration office post lockdown is withdrawn or when it is safer to do so.

Walking hand in hand with the upcoming technologies will not only help the developers to stay strong during the unprecedented times, it will also aid the industry to do a strong groundwork for the business in future.

With attractive property prices and lowest ever loan rates, there has been a surge in the number of home loan seekers recently. Although it seems most viable for those investing in the affordable housing sector to apply for a loan, they may not always be eligible to get it approved despite their efforts. Most home buyers who are applying for a loan for the first time may not be aware of maintaining their credit profile. Here we discuss how maintaining a good credit record can prove beneficial in the long run and the factors affecting it.

What is CIBIL score?

What Factors Affect the Credit Profile of a Borrower?

Good Repayment history:

The foremost important thing to be cautious about while availing credit is to pay all EMIs and card bills on time and without a single failure. While missing one or two payments in 10 years may not affect the credit score heavily, but defaulting on a loan or credit card dues may harm one’s profile for as long as seven years or more.

A Longer Credit History:

Credit score does not depend on one’s age, rather than on the history of one’s credit card or loan usage. Acquiring a satisfactory CIBIL score requires a well-managed credit archive. Older history of credit usage indicates higher chances of one being economically wise in the future.

Lower Credit Utilisation Ratio:

In simple words, it is calculated by dividing the amount one owes (one’s current outstanding debt) at present by one’s credit limit across credit card and loans expressed as a percentage. Ideally, this ratio should not exceed 30%. The lower this ratio, the more responsible is one considered as a borrower and helps to maintain a good score.

Balanced Credit Mix:

This refers to the type of credit accounts a borrower has. Home loans, cars loans and others come under secured credit whereas, personal loans and credit cards are considered unsecured credit in our country. A balanced credit mix can help maintain a high CIBIL Score by posing less risk of defaulting a loan in future.

Benefits of A High CIBIL Score

While banks have switched to external benchmarking systems for floating-rate loans, borrowers can get more clarity in interest rate movements. These changes have also led to home loan seekers being extra careful of their credit profile. However, some banks adhere to internal risk assessment rather than relying on credit scores. Maintaining a good credit record can always be proof of responsible behaviour which helps to get loans without any hassles.

While the world had come to a standstill since the lockdown, workplaces try their best to continue uninterrupted service in order to withstand the economic slowdown. Real estate sector in India has been facing major issues such as labour migration, lockdowns, rising commodity prices, supply crisis and much more. The uncertainty in the current economic situations has led rising skepticism among home buyers too. Little do most people know that this might be the perfect time to buy a property in urban areas and metropolitans like Kolkata.

Interesting facts to know before buying property during the pandemic

Did you know?

Banks and money-lending institutions generally offer floating rate of interest to home buyers. RBI regulations have linked home loans offering floating rate of interest to- Repo Rate, 3 months Treasury Bill Rates, 6 months Treasury Bill Rates and benchmark market rate published by FBIL (Financial Benchmarks India Private Ltd).

Banks can choose an external benchmark that determines the home loan rate offered by them.

Fall in Repo Rate

Post pandemic, RBI has cut down its repo rate to a record low of 4% and it shall remain unchanged as announced in its August meeting. The historic decision to control inflation by RBI may turn out to be beneficial for the borrowers. PSBs and other financial institutions shall cut down their MCLR that results in reduced EMI for the borrowers. Along with home loan rates, additional charges (processing fees, late payment charges, pre-payment charges, conversion charges, legal fee, administrative fee, and account fee) shall also be impacted due to the change in repo rates.

Extensive Offers

Due to unprecedented situations during the lockdown, the demand-supply chain has been majorly affected. To maintain continuous cash flow, builders and property dealers prioritize on clearing their inventory. Flooding offers on 2/3 BHK apartments by all realtors make for better deals now than ever before. Price Protection Policy, No Cancellation Fees, Heavy discounts are some of the many offers that are attractive and profitable for home buyers in India.

Property Prices

With lowest ever home loan rates, home buyers with good CIBIL Score must take the advantage of the current market conditions. Property dealers and realtors, shall after normalisation, be in need of huge capital investment due to rising cost of raw materials. Construction time shall increase and possession shall be delayed due to crisis of supply. It is, therefore, advisable for those interested in purchasing property, to invest in their choice of real estate before home loan rates rise.

If you have been looking for property in Kolkata and have made a site visit prior to the lockdown, grab the opportunity before it is too late.

AtmaNirbhar Bharat, two words which are on the lips of almost every Indian. It is an initiative launched by our honorable Prime Minister through the Ministry of Finance to address the issues raised during the global pandemic. The major focus is on instilling liquidity in the economy. Here, we will discuss the key points that all Indians must know irrespective of their profession or livelihood.

The MSME sector has to be the foremost thing of discussion as there is so much fuss going around it. MSME stands for micro, small and medium enterprises which constitutes 95% of the total industries in india. I believe they are the real performers who are carrying India?s 5 trillion dollar economy goal on their shoulders. As per the revised data, an enterprise with investment less than Rs.1 crore and turnover less than Rs.5 crores is said to be a micro enterprise. And in case of small and medium enterprises, investments should be less than Rs.10 crores and Rs.20 crores respectively whereas, turnover should be less than Rs.50 crores and Rs.100 crores. The objective of the move was to include the big enterprises, as big fishes are packed with previous loans. The government wants them to avail loan benefits and do good business in the near future.

The Abhiyan Offers

• Collateral Free Emergency Credit Line to MSME enterprises for the tenure of 4 years along with two conditions. One, the turnover of the business should be more than 100 crores and the outstanding loan amount should be more than 25 crores. It is offered till 31st October 2020. Further, out of the 4 years, 1st year would be a moratorium period where the borrower need not to pay the principal amount. And the credit amount would not be more than 20% of the loan outstanding on 29th February 2020. The Government of India has allocated Rs.300 crores for the collateral free loans.
  
  
• All the registered residential and commercial projects under RERA (Real Estate Regulation & Development Act) have received extension of 6 months as the construction work came to an absolute halt due to the lockdown. This has brought no relief to the real estate developers as issues of labourers migrating to their hometown is being continued.
  
  
• The relief package for the stressed MSMEs is amounting to Rs.20,000 crores, under which subordinate loans would be provided. The purpose here is to provide liquidation to huge debts and benefit equity and preferential shareholders. The viable businesses of the Indian Economy have also been taken care of as the government is ready for equity infusion of Rs. 50,000 crores.
  
  
• The Make in India programme has been extended with a slogan of Vocal to Local (priority to indeginous products) by disallowing global tenders worth less than Rs. 20,00 crores.
  
  
• The Atmanirbhar Abhiyan empowers the salaried class with Rs.25,000 crores, an extension of 3 months grant of? 24% via Employee Provident Fund. It is only for the business which has less than 100 employees of which 90%? must earn less than or equal to Rs.15,000 rupees a month. TDS rate reduction is done by 25%.
  
  
• Previous schemes like Garib Kalyan Yojna and Jandhan accounts have witnessed a small help from the government directly into their bank accounts irrespective of financial status of the account holder.
  
• The initiative of reducing the cash reserve ratio by the RBI has given wings to the scheduled commercial banks and NBFCs as they can lend more and pour more liquidity in the market.

Giving more space for private participation

The Government of India opened doors for private roles in defence, power, and space sectors. They are offering 500 commercial mining blocks through an open auction process and no eligibility conditions. Foreign Direct Investment limit in Defence sector hiked to 74% from 49%. Also focus will be upon indigenisation of imported spares, thus banning huge imports. In the aviation sector, investment of Rs.13,000 crores is expected via PPP model for building airports in different phases. The Government has also allowed usage of airspace for civil flying because it has the potential to generate 100 crores per year. Though privatisation of the power sector is not a new thing to hear about, the government has assured stricter norms in addition.

These major openings for private participation may reward the nation in the long run but it has no clear impact on the liquidity crisis that India is facing because of this lockdown.