DELHI NCR, a top real estate investment destination for UAE-based NRIs

• Metro cities in India have been the reigning choice for NRIs looking to invest in mid-income properties back home, owing to their excellent infrastructure and social fabric.

DUBAI, August 3, 2022 –It took Ramesh Kumar 20 years to buy a two-bedroom apartment in Gurgaon, his only tangible investment doubling up as a retirement home. The Dubai-based Indian works in a private company as an accountant.

Kumar came to the UAE with the typical expatriate dream; to earn enough for a better and respectable future. The single breadwinner of his family of six in the UAE and five back home, 54-year-old Kumar’s aspiration of buying an apartment would not have been possible without a job in Dubai

“I come from a humble background. My parents sold their only property to organize resources so that I could come here and earn enough for them and my wife and kids,” said Kumar. Feeding 11 mouths has been an overwhelming experience for Kumar, making saving regularly a tough affair.

Whenever Kumar felt he had enough to buy a decent house, the property price would exceed his budget. “It was almost like a cat-and-mouse game, which went on for almost 20 years until I could finally lock in on a house this year. 2022 is extremely special for me as I have fulfilled my late parents’ aspirations to own a house,” said the emotional father of four.

Kumar is among the numerous Indians living in the UAE who are looking to park their hard-earned savings for buying a property they can call home. From an investment standpoint, this has been the top priority for these non-resident Indians (NRIs). However, it is mainly the mid-income working class who are increasingly inclined to invest back home.

Square Yards, one of the fastest growing Proptech platforms in the UAE, shared some exciting insights from its study to back this fact. According to the company, during 2021-22, most properties bought by NRIs in the UAE were worth less than INR 10 million.

“Properties worth less than INR 10 million comprised around 86 percent of the total properties bought from us by UAE-based NRI customers,” said Kanika Gupta Shori, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Square Yards. According to Shori, this trend signifies that contrary to the common belief, mid-income homes bought by NRIs sell like hot cakes compared to high-value properties.

“It also suggests that NRIs prefer to diversify their investment into multiple low-valued properties instead of concentrating on one high-value investment,” adds Shori.

According to Square Yards data, more than half of the NRI buyers in the UAE are over 45 years of age, and mostly prefer to buy a home as part of their retirement plan. “The demographic data shows that our NRI buyers are mostly middle-aged, who buy these properties primarily for investment purposes. A major chunk of our NRI customers is more than 45 years old (53 percent). Others (41 percent) are in the age group of 35-44 years”

Location-wise, major investments by NRI customers go into India’s big metro cities. “Delhi-NCR continues to be the top-ranked destination, clocking 56 percent of the total properties bought. Other major regions are Bengaluru (22 percent), Mumbai (11 percent), and Pune (6 percent),” the report says.

Syeda Batool, a 40-year-old Indian living in Sharjah, opted to invest in Noida (UP) instead of her home city, Kanpur. Her rationale is simple; she wants to spend her retirement in a place where she is more assured of facilities such as quality health, proper social infrastructure, and good connectivity.

“Noida is closer to my home city. Hence it becomes my first option. Also, while investing in a metro, I am confident my hard-earned investment wouldn’t go wrong,” said the schoolteacher who has been in the UAE for 15 years. “- Syeda added.