WFH Culture And Demand For Bigger Homes Drive Popular Trend In Bengaluru - Reveals Magicbricks PropIndex Report Q4

* Real estate market in Bengaluru showed QoQ growth in Q4

* Demand for 3bhks triggered post the lockdown

Post witnessing stunted growth ascribed to a stressed environment due to COVID induced lockdown, the real estate market in Bengaluru is gradually returning to pre-COVID levels primarily driven by growth in demand for bigger homes due to the rise in Work-From-Home (WFH) culture, shows Magicbricks PropIndex report Q4.

As a result of the “Work from Home” culture, consumers were increasingly looking for additional space which resulted in increased demand for 3BHK configuration. The demand has increased from 45% in Q3 2020 to 52% in Q4 2020. The propensity of demand was concentrated mostly in North and South Bengaluru localities such as Whitefield, Sarjapur Road, and Bellary Road which ranked continuously high in terms of searches.

According to PropIndex, in Q4 2020, Bengaluru's residential market continued to show 3.2% QoQ growth in demand, represented by property searches. Supply has also improved by 10.4% QoQ with launch of new projects and improved listings in the secondary market.

It is interesting to note that after price decline in the previous two quarters, due to the festive discount by builders, waiver on stamp duty, and deferred payment plans, under-construction (UC) properties finally showed a marginal 0.4% growth in Q4 2020, while Ready-to-move (RTM) properties in recorded price decline of 0.7% QoQ. According to Magicbricks data, price decline was witnessed in most areas such as Horamavu, Anjanapura, Ramamurthy Nagar, and Attibele within a <INR 5000 per sqft range, suggesting a decline for properties in peripheral areas with less social amenities.

Commenting on the PropIndex report, Sudhir Pai, CEO, Magicbricks, said, “With uncertainties around the economy and jobs now stabilising, we are witnessing signs of growth in the real estate sector as well.  The economy has also stopped shrinking since October 2020 and now we are seeing a V-shaped recovery in the real estate sector. There are predictions of net positive GDP growth for the ‘Oct-Dec 2020’ quarter at 0.1% and rebound growth at 10% for FY 2021-22, making it surpass pre-COVID levels. With impetus from the government in the form of stamp duty cuts in some states and first-home buyer incentives, buyer demand is expected to stay at elevated levels in 2021.”

It was also noteworthy that more consumers were preferring to shift in costlier segments. The search trends of Q4 2020 in Bengaluru has shown an increased preference for properties in the higher price range. The demand for greater than INR7,000 per sqft held a market share of 32% in Q4 2020 as against 27% in Q3 2020.

About Magicbricks: India's no 1 property site

Magicbricks is India’s No.1 property site. With monthly traffic exceeding 20 million visits and with an active base of over 1.4 million+ property listings, Magicbricks provides the largest platform for buyers and sellers of property to connect with each other in a clear, transparent manner. With this in mind, Magicbricks has innovated several product features, content, and research services, which have helped us build the largest audience pool.