From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, Aug 22: The record climbdown of the rupee against the US Dollar could be the ideal opportunity to non-resident Indians (NRIs) in India to buy property as they would earn substantially higher sums for their Dollar holdings, feels the ASSOCHAM.
The ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat, who released a paper on “falling Rupee sparks property boom from NRIs,” said realtors in major cities were expecting an increase of 35 per cent in business enquiries from the expatriates this year.
``With the rupee riding low against the dollar, Indian residents are looking to accelerate investment plans back home,” Rawat said.
Rupee has fallen by about 34 per cent against the US dollar since August 2011 and breached the 65 mark against the dollar, he said.
Bangalore is the most favourite property investment destination for NRIs followed by Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Dehra Dun, as per the ASSOCHAM paper.
ASSOCHAM conducted a random survey of nearly 1250 real estate developers in Delhi-NCR, Dera Basi, Mohali near Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Pune, Dehra Dun, Chennai etc.
The survey reveals that interest for buying property by NRIs has suddenly increased due to favourable exchange rates.
“The Indian property developers are anticipating a 35% surge in enquiries to NRI-based purchasers as the rupee dip against the dollar last six months. The decline in rupee has increased property sales because people want to get value for their money,” says the ASSOCHAM quoting the developers.
Rawat further said, “It’s definitely not good news for people back at home, but for a non-resident Indian (NRI), this is definitely the best time to invest. At the moment any non-resident Indian buying a property in India can save around 20-30% on his/her property value.
Majority of real estate developers said, the NRI traffic is coming primarily from the UAE/Gulf region, US, Singapore, Australia, UK, Canada, South-Africa etc. The demand is more for high end properties and commercial buildings.
The record decline in the value of the Indian rupee and the sluggish realty market, proved to be a double delight for overseas Indians investing in property here, ASSOCHAM said.