New Delhi, Mar 28 (IANS): A majority of potential homebuyers expect housing prices to rise over the next six months led by higher input costs, according to a joint survey by Housing.com and National Real Estate Development Council.

Therefore, the potential buyers are looking for flexible payment plans along with discounts while deciding on making purchases of their dream homes, the survey revealed.

Digital real estate platform Housing.com along with leading industry body NAREDCO has conducted a survey of more than 3,000 people to gauge consumer sentiments for the first half of 2022 calendar year.

Also, the survey titled 'Residential Realty Consumer Sentiment Outlook (January—June 2022) showed 47 per cent of the consumers prefer to invest in real estate, which is highest compared to other asset classes such as stocks, gold, and fixed deposits.

In the survey for the second half of 2020, only 35 per cent respondents showed interest in buying real estate, it said.

"The Covid pandemic has reinforced the need for owning a house for every individual. People want bigger and better homes. Our data showed that housing sales rose 13 per cent in 2021 with revival in demand. We strongly believe that sales will cross pre-Covid levels this year," said Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO of Housing.com.

The survey also indicated that 57 per cent of the potential homebuyers would prefer to buy ready-to-move-in properties.

"It is encouraging for us that consumers are optimistic about the growth potential of the Indian economy and their own income. Nearly 50 per cent of people surveyed prefer to buy real estate. This means that demand will continue to remain strong," said Rajan Bandelkar, President of NAREDCO.