New Delhi, May 6 (IANS): Enquiries regarding residential properties across major cities by prospective buyers have increased during the lockdown, courtesy the online route, although sales remained subdued, according to a report by 360 Realtors.

The report noted that the coronavirus pandemic continues to undermine growth in the Indian realty sector, as demand has softened in most of the major cities.

"The industry showed some resilience by leveraging the digital medium, but a knock-off in site visits and sales was inevitable. The numbers plunged, thereby tanking overall sentiments. Interestingly, there was a steep rise in enquiries as people are having plenty of extra time due to lockdown," it said.

In Pune, the monthly enquiries grew by 220 per cent in April, while in Bengaluru, the rise is pegged at 140 per cent, said. In Noida, it was up 58 per cent, followed by Mumbai where enquiries rose by 56 per cent.

Ankit Kansal, Founder and MD, 360 Realtors said: "Due to lockdown, most of the people are working from home, which is giving them ample time to research and learn more about properties. Although COVID has triggered uncertainty and volatility in the market, it is also enabling wide-scale behavioural changes. Across the value chain, spurred adoption of the digital medium is visible."

In terms of demand, the report said that the distress is more visible in markets like Gurugram, where a sharp 70 per cent monthly reduction in transaction volumes has been registered. However, in other IT-centric markets like Pune and Bengaluru, the deceleration is more indistinct, as realtors can sell properties through online platforms.

It observed that there might be a possible compression of 10-25 per cent in the office rentals. The report further revealed that renewed leasing will be in the range of 20-25 million square feet in the year, a notable dip of around 50 per cent.

However, strata leasing and small ticket size sales of Rs 50-70 lakhs will continue to infuse momentum.

"Developers are also floating attractive offers such as 10:90 plans, wherein one just have to pay 10 per cent as a token amount to make the booking. Even this amount is refundable, in case the buyers wish to withdraw," the 360 Realtors report said.

In the coming time, active participation of NRI buyers will be witnessed, it said, propelled by the depreciation in rupee value.