Do you avoid stepping out of your house during the monsoons for site visits and prefer postponing your home-purchase decision for a sunny day? If you do, fret not, as experts tell you why house-hunting during the rains is a smart move.
Mr and Mrs Shah wanted to purchase a home for themselves for a very long time and they did visit some sites as well, but none interested them. And now, they have deferred the process of visiting the construction sites till October. "During the monsoons, we don't like stepping out of the house. It's the time to simply enjoy the rains and eat pakoda and drink chai. To add to it, the festive period will start, post the monsoons, and there will be enticing offers and incentives lined up for us, which we can leverage upon. Hence, we don't mind postponing our decision," they explain.
Interestingly, the Shahs are not the only ones harbouring this perception. Many potential home-buyers choose to postpone their home-buying decision during the monsoon. After all, who likes to spend their weekend getting drenched in rains and braving the traffic to inspect the construction site?
But is monsoon really 'not the right time' to purchase your dream abode? Our experts don't think so.
But is monsoon really 'not the right time' to purchase your dream abode? Our experts don't think so.
Is it really a lean season?
The monsoon season has traditionally been considered a lean period for the real estate market. The unpredictability of the rains, coupled with poor infrastructure, water-logging, increased traffic and difficulty in accessing different residential developments, have typically proven to be deterrents for home-buyers. "People are less inclined to move homes during the monsoons. To add to it, the monsoon is also considered by some home-buyers to be an inauspicious time (Pitru Paksha) to purchase a new property and buyers are usually inclined to wait it out," says Shubika Bilkha, business head, The Real Estate Management Institute (REMI).
Experts also say that it's the psyche of the people that makes the monsoons a lean season."People are conditioned to treat it as the lean season because they prefer waiting for the 'festive season' to begin, so that they can cash in on good deals. On the macro-level though, nothing changes, as the construction continues at its usual pace and a project estimated to be completed at a certain time-frame does get completed," says Kaizad Hateria, brand custodian and chief delights officer, Rustomjee Group.
Interestingly, buyers also like to play the 'wait and watch' game during the rainy season. Additionally, the developers also avoid launching new projects and try to sell their existing inventories while also gearing up for the upcoming festive season."Monsoons make commencement of new construction work difficult as transportation of raw materials and other required equipment takes a hit," says Shveta Jain, managing director-residential, Cushman and Wakefield. Hence, all these factors contribute towards it being a 'not-so happening season' for the market.
Why house-hunting during the monsoons is a wise move...
During monsoons, the realty market witnesses a lull, owing to many reasons. However, experts caution the home-buyers to not follow the herd mentality blindly and see through the wheel of illusion and strike gold for themselves during the monsoons. "It is an ideal time to buy a property, as the developers come up with various offers during this period as well. Since these offers are for a specific period of time, they make it profitable for the buyers. Also, the buyer gets an opportunity to look out for various aspects such as the quality of the work, leakages in the construction, water-logging in the surrounding area, convenience of commuting from the nearest station or bus-stop during a downpour, etc, which make their home buying decision very easy," says Maulik Sheth, director, Sheth Corp.
Besides, during the peak season or the festive period, people are always in a rush. You might miss out on some detail or another. But during the monsoons (being the lean season), the developers can give undivided attention to the potential homebuyers because there are considerably lesser walk-ins. So, you can take your time and make an unhurried decision. Apart from that, buyers can also enjoy special seasonal home loan offers provided by banks and other financial institutions.
"I was not very keen to purchase my house during the monsoons because I felt I would strike an expensive deal for myself since there would be no festive monetary incentives. However, I am glad I braved the torrential rains and visited many construction sites because contrary to my belief, I was able to negotiate a very good deal, had a close inspection of the property and got a fair idea about the travel conditions," says Sunaina Mehta, a home-maker.
In conclusion:
While visiting properties during the monsoon can seem like a tedious process, if home-buyers want to purchase their dream abode, they should not wait for the 'festive season' to kick in, as even during the rainy season, you can strike a great deal for yourself and secure your dream abode. Just don't throw caution to the wind, as buying a home, is one of the biggest investment decisions.
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