Real estate - the most preferred asset class in the COVID-19 era

The COVID-19 pandemic situation has established the fact that owning a home is way better than dealing with the uncertainties of living in a rented accommodation. People are also realizing the importance of having real estate as a more reliable option compared to the volatile stock market. Real estate as an asset class has seen appreciation across the world including cities like London, New York, Dubai, Mumbai, etc. Central business districts in Mumbai such as Kanjurmarg, Mulund and Kalyan-Shil Road are fast emerging as the next gen residential hubs in the MMR region. Runwal Group has been a leading name in Mumbai's real estate market, with a strong presence in these regions. It has large projects such as Runwal Bliss, Runwal Forests, Runwal Pinnacle, Runwal Gardens and its latest launch – Runwal Avenue. The group's ongoing projects at Kanjurmarg, Mulund and Dombivli add up to approx 20 million sq.ft. of development. The group has managed to perform consistently well even during the lockdown periods.

Real estate in a city like Mumbai continues to be a user driven asset class and the increasing number of the aspirational middle class seek bigger, more spacious homes, especially in view of prolonged work from home routines. According to a report in Financial Express, with a majority of banks cutting home loan rates, to pass on the RBI repo rate reduction to consumers, there was a surge in home loan requests.

Mr.Subodh Runwal, Managing Director, Runwal Group said, "We have seen robust sales over the past year and our sales this year is almost double compared to the same period in FY 21. Achieving these kinds of sales numbers even during lockdowns is an affirmation of the fact that quality developments by trusted developers will continue to do well. This is the best time to buy a home in Mumbai as prices are at their most attractive. However, rising raw material and input costs will soon lead to developers factoring them in the housing prices, resulting in price increase." 

Projects by credible developers, offering a strong value proposition, like those of Runwal Group, are still in demand and customers are willing to increase their budgets and look at bigger homes. NRI markets, especially the Gulf region, have been generating a lot of interest for such projects.