New Delhi, January 16: Apart from very cold conditions of the capital, the lack of enthusiasm among overseas Indians to buy properties in India has further dampen the spirits of some of the realty firms as well as around half-dozen banks that have put up their impressive stalls outside the venue of the recently concluded Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (PBD). Realty firms were trying to woo them to sell their products and banks were ready to clear their home loan there and then. But, both got rude shock. In a way, it was a departure from earlier PBD meets when large number of NRIs used to book their properties in various parts of the country.
As to what happened to overseas Indians this time that they were not taking any interests in the upcoming projects of realty firms? Are they facing financial crunch? Well, after taking to many of them, one thing was clearly emerged that a real-life version of `Khosla ka ghosla’ is being played out with an increasing number of NRIs. Furious Naresh Chopra, a NRI from America, said that he had booked one flat in Gurgaon in a project of a very well-known realty player. He has been paying whatever money the realty firm asking from him. Despite that, there is no progress in the project. The realty firm has failed to deliver the flat to him which they supposed to hand over to him almost one year ago. While narrating his sad tale, he also said that he would take up this matter with Vylar Ravi, Overseas Indian affairs minister.
Complaints of real- estate deals going sour, illegal encroachment and unauthorized occupation of properties have flooded the officials of ministry of overseas Indian affairs during PBD.
Property dispute is one of the most frequent complaints by NRIs. They are unable to protect their property due to long absences or lack of awareness of laws, Vayalar Ravi admitted. Moreover, some realty firms are not delivering them their flats in time. The largest number of complaints is from major real estate markets like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab. The nature of the complaints are mainly protection of property that has been forcibly occupied or encroached, dispute relating to division of property or inheritance and cases where investors have been cheated byreal estate developers.
Though there was a session on property disputes at the PBD, only assurances were given to harassed overseas Indians by officials. Navin Raheja,CMD of Raheja group, which put up their stall at the PBD venue, admitted that the NRI response was rather cold. They seem to be reluctant to invest here as some unscrupulous developers have duped them of their money by not delivering projects at all or in some cases projects have got inordinately delayed as well. These factors have contributed towards the comparative lack of interest on the part of overseas Indians. RK Arora,CMD of Supertech group, admits that NRIs buying fewer properties now compare to two-three years ago. “They buy properties in the range from Rs 60 lakhs to Rs 80 lakhs. They buy properties for purely investment purpose. There is hardly any emotional factor that is involved in.
As and when they get good appreciation on their properties, they dispose it off.” he said.
After not a great response from NRIs in the last year PBD that held at Chennai, realty advisory Century 21 India did not put up their stall this time in Delhi. Dr.Devendra Gupta,CMD, of Century 21 India, says that NRIs can again start buyingproperties in India provided the authorities ensure that their interests are not compromised. “ This is also not true that they are not buying properties here at all. They still buy properties , but not in a big way. My advice to them would be to stick to metros and major cities only, as the tier 2 and tier 3 cities still face uncertainty as to the oversupply situation.” Sanjay Singh concludes.
Samir Jasuja, CMD of PropEquity, has a word of caution to them. They see to it that they invest with developers with a proven track record and not to be taken in by glitzy ads or aggressive media campaigns. According to him, unlike the general perception NRIs do not invest inproperties in a big way. Indian realty market would not crash if they desert it. There are basically two types of NRIs who invest in realty market. A. Those who buy property on purely commercial angle. B. Those who send money from some European country or US to their parents or close relatives to buyproperties. In both cases, the number is not that really big.
Eminent scholar on Indian Diaspora affairs, Dr. Chandrasekhar says that perhaps only those NRIs are buying properties in India who have migrated to other countries during the last 25 yeas or so. They are still very much close to their roots. ‘‘I am pretty sure that those who had shifted before 25 years or so are not buyingproperties . Only the first generation NRIs are coming back to India. All stake holders should see to it that NRIs keep their ties with India intact. We should create such a situation ideal conditions for them so that they keep on investing here,” feels Dr. Tiwari.
Meanwhile, Ashish Jindal, Regional Head (North) – Knight Frank India Pvt Ltd. says that the current situation is right for NRIs to enter the market as the market has started its upward movement and the prices would definitely harden over the next few months.
Dr Devendra Gupta also says that NRIs have always been active in the Indian Real Estate Sector. They have always bought into built up units in major cities or land in their ancestral city/town. The global boom till 2007 witnessed a lot ofinvestment by NRIs into India. The global recession, which also hit India majority, saw some NRIs scout the Indian cities for distressed assets. A staffer of Punjab national bank admitted that there were not much NRIs looking for home loan from them during PBD. “ As economic slowdown has badly hurt them too, it is possible that when things started looking up again, they would start buyproperties here,” he feels.
Till recent times, NRIs from US, Britain, Canada and Gulf were the Darling of realty sector. Among NRIs settled or working in these countries, Punjabis and Malyalis used to buyproperties in a big way every year in all the major parts of the country. It is a well-known fact that Malyalis and Punjabis have migrated in hordes over the years. Some of them are also buying commercial space.
Samy Velu, a leader of the Malaysian Indian Congress and former minister in his adopted country, said that the purpose of PBD would be defeated if Government only looks the dollars part of overseas Indians and fail to address their genuine woes and issues. He was referring to the speech of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh in the PBD in which he urged NRIs to investin India.
–Agencies