Why is Indian real estate becoming a preferred investment destination for NRIs in GCC?

Historically, NRIs from the GCC have preferred metro cities such as Delhi-NCR, Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Chennai for investment, but more recently, they have been eyeing upcoming smart towns such as Ahmedabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Panchkula, and Kochi.Despite the pandemic response, currency depreciation, and rising global inflation, India’s real estate market is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels. Non-resident Indian (NRI) investors have seized on the weakening rupee against the US dollar, the Dirham, and the majority of major currencies as an opportunity to buy homes and earn high returns by investing in Indian real estate. Despite the pandemic and its aftermath, NRI investment in Indian real estate increased by more than $13.4 billion (6.4 percent) in FY21 compared to FY20. Many factors have contributed to this increase in investment.

Expatriates from the Gulf understand that they can view their luxury homes in India as an investment that can also generate rental income.

One driving force in this growth has been the success in developing highly interactive virtual tours and digital layout inspections via internet-driven technologies. In addition, the budget for 2022-2023 included highly favourable incentives for NRI investment, which is a significant factor. For instance, the maximum surcharge on both short-term and long-term capital gains has been reduced from 37% to 15%.

NRIs in GCC Countries are ‘Coming Home’

An impressive 41 percent of such large volumes of investment have come from NRIs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, particularly the UAE. Even now, the number of inquiries from NRIs in the GCC about higher-priced homes is rapidly increasing. A growing number of people are investing in order to have a place to live if they decide to retire to India, illustrating the trend of people relocating closer to family and returning to their motherland. In India’s first quarter, property sales reached a new high not seen since 2015. As a result of these encouraging trends, an increasing number of NRIs from the Gulf countries are interested in making high-risk investments in both metro and non-metro cities.

NRI investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have long seen great potential in India’s real estate market. Purchasing real estate in India is now more accessible for NRIs earning abroad and many are eager to take advantage of the high returns as a result of the depreciation of the Indian rupee versus the Dirham (and the US Dollar), resulting in an increase in the volume of queries. Residential real estate is an especially appealing investment due to its greater maturity in terms of coverage across multiple locations in India and adaptability in delivering options for just about any budget. Read More On..