Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Investment in real estate by US NRIs dips but Bangalore retains top slot

The impact of economic slowdown has been increasingly felt on the overall demand pattern among US NRIs while investing in real estate back home. However, Bangalore continues to remain the favoured destination for investment in housing. But the quantum of demand has dipped over the years. An estimated 45 per cent of the US NRIs wish to seek home loans while investing in residential property across the country.

In a survey conducted during the 2-day property show organised by Priya Publications and REBI and held in Edison and Santa Clara during November 12-20 , southern cities drew more demand for investment in real estate. In bay area alone, Bangalore continues to remain as the favoured destination for techies as chances of re-employment are better in the city for returning NRIs. Whereas in Edison area, Chennai topped the list of cities for realty investment.

Other cities that evinced keen interest among NRIs include Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi, Gurgaon , Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi. Among tier III cities that are driving demand specific mention must be made about Mysore, Mangalore, Vishakhapattinam and Coimbatore in south. Incidentally the level of interest for investment in Ahmedabad is up especially with the state receiving more foreign investment for infrastructure projects leading to better yield for investors.

Unlike earlier, demand for villas has surged with a significant number of visitors evincing keen interest to invest in villa projects in southern cities. Other categories of properties for which demand continues include office space, developed plot and retail units. A majority of the US NRIs are looking for professionally managed property management companies to manage their properties during their absence in India. The setting up of shops by MNCs like L J Hooker, Red Sky and Remax has encouraged them to look at additional investment in real estate.

The availability of guaranteed rental income properties has generated much interest due to minimal financial outgo and the flexibility to offset EMI payment against rental income every month. As developers are keen to manage such properties for the initial years, NRIs evinced keen interest to invest in such properties.

According to market sources, the overall situation is yet to improve though a majority of the techies are able to hold on to the jobs as there continues to be a demand for skilled jobs across US. However, those companies which are depending on the federal government for a chunk of its business are finding the going tough. For instance Cisco has laid off 10% of its employees all over the world because 20% of the revenue comes from the federal government spending.

Industry sources point out that 3-5 % of employees getting laid off is common in every company. Asset prices collapsed and three-fifths of households in the US saw their wealth decline between 2007 and 2009. More than a quarter lost over half of their wealth. America’s average annual unemployment rate zoomed upwards too when it went from 5.8% in 2008 to 9.3% in 2009 and 9.6% in 2010.

Though a full scale recovery is still a long way to go across US, corporates are increasing their spending as is evident from the spurt in demand by techies for rental accommodation in areas like Edison, said a senior official at a consultancy firm in New York.
There is a spurt in the number of IT projects' spending in the tristate area with the number of expatriates in particular from India visiting for project related assignments, it is said. During 2008, apartments were available just for the asking in Edison area due to frequent layoff and expatriates eventually returning home. But today, several apartment complexes are getting filled up, There is another reason for the shift in trend towards investment in India. NRIs had lost capital values considerably while investing in real estate across US.

For instance, an NRI who had invested in housing in Anaheim during 2006 at US$950,000 saw his investment declining to US$625,000 in a matter of just six months. Another NRI who had put his investment in housing in Orlando saw his investment nose-diving from US$400,000 to US$125,000, according to market sources.

On the IT front, in terms of future prospects at least software looks good, say industry sources. In the short term it looks moderate as new groups are able to get employment. Returning NRIs are eyeing investment in real estate back home as they do not want to prolong the investment exercise due to the growing realisation that property prices are inching high across India.

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