Housing budget of Chennaiite has shrunk, thanks to shooting inflation and continuing high interest rates on home loans.
With no big bonuses coming their way this year following global recession, Chennaiites have cut back on their investment spent on homes by about 10 per cent and are even ready to cringe in smaller rooms.
“City folks who were ready to spend up to rs 40 lakh last year are settling for properties lesser than `35 lakh this fiscal,” said Mr Ganesh Vasudevan, vice president of IndiaProperty.com. “This is in line with the economic slowdown, no drop in interest rates and high inflation,” he said.
A recent survey by the web portal on the consumer demand for Chennai residential property indicates the average rate per square feet sought by customers is down 13 per cent.
“This in effect means that though the folks have not compromised on their flat size, they have settled for interior locations,” explained Mr Vasudevan.
This has led to the resurgence of peripheral areas such as Tambaram East and GST road in the south followed by Ambattur in the northwest part of the city.
Tambaram East has gained mileage with 33 per cent more property seekers preferring this stretch while 6 per cent or more people have chosen Ambattur, the survey points out.
But to accommodate their privacy needs within the pruned budget, most city folks are now opting for three bedrooms in two bedroom spaces.
“The shift in apartment size preference from 2BHK to 3BHKunits over the past three quarters indicates that the average buyer gives more importance to the BHK specifications than the square feet one,” said Mr Vasudevan.
However, Chennai residential market has not seen a dip in demand despite hike in home loan rates and registration costs.
With 22 per cent increase in customers looking to purchase property in the next four months, the portal has decided to conduct a 3-day property show titled Grahapravesam 2012 from June 22 at Chennai Trade Centre.