Pandemic Has Taught Us the Necessity of Owning a Home

Subhash Goel, MD & Chairman, Goel Ganga Developments   What will be the long term impact of COVID on the industry? As the world comes to terms with the unforgettable impact that the novel corona virus has had across economies, the future of real estate in India does not look as bleak as earlier speculated. In fact, home buyers in Pune and Bangalore seem to have retained their intention of buying a home post COVID-19 as well. The importance of owning one’s own home in a well-developed community has come to light even more than before.   The current crisis has established the importance of a home thus will it help revive residential real estate? While a meagre percentage of potential homeowners have postponed their home buying decisions due to uncertain conditions, the majority have come out strongly to lockdown their dream homes. This realisation will definitely boost the sales in the residential real estate sector resulting in a full bloom in the upcoming quarters for this year.   Looking beyond the pandemic, what positives can the industry take from this crisis? Our research and ground performance has proven that a home is always going to be the top most priority for all seeking homebuyers. The pandemic has taught us how necessary it is to have one’s own home in a suitable location with the right connectivity and access to basic utilities resources in times of unforeseen emergencies like this pandemic. The real estate industry did well to immediately adopt to digital channels to help facilitate a smooth buying cycle for the homebuyers from digital informative webinars, online payment gateways and e-registrations to avoid the customer and employee from being exposed to any health risks.