India's capital city Delhi is witnessing a trend, wherein most of homebuyers prefer to purchase a property close to their workplace, as per a study by OLX.
 
The study revealed that 50% of all the interested homebuyers in Delhi-NCR want to buy a home in close proximity to their workplace.
 
Followed by 48% of the respondents, who stated that they want to buy a home for investment and security, and 45% looked at better amenities (gym, swimming pool among others).
 
Among other factors that these respondents would prefer at the place where there are gated societies for better security, more space, proximity to school for kids and shopping places.
 
Irwin Preet Singh Anand, COO, OLX India, said, “The report helps us in recognizing emerging consumer trends in the real estate market. Delhi-NCR is one of the fastest growing markets on our real estate section, with one third of the buyers seeking ready to move inventory, particularly in the NCR pockets closer to commercial hubs in Noida and Gurugram.”
 
Anand said that in last six months, buyers interest has significantly jumped for mid-range 2 & 3 BHK properties among the working class, a ripple effect of the cut in home loan interest rate announced this year.
 
Another key factor to be known from the survey was that online platforms are one of the most used sources of information for property search by people in Delhi-NCR.
 
Sachin Hajela, Associate Vice President, Kantar TNS, said, “We found that the benefits of online in handholding a property-seeker in the initial journey of shortlisting a property, contacting a seller/ broker has resulted in online becoming the starting point for 80% of property seekers.”
 
Top searched locations in Delhi-NCR by homebuyers were Dwarka due its proximity to Gurugram’s corporate hub, Greater Faridabad and Noida.
 
Interestingly, majority of them sought ready to move in apartments in Delhi-NCR, followed by 25% browsing the platform for independent houses, 17% seeking for builder floors, 15% interested in land/ open plots, while the remaining 10% are looking for commercial space.
 
Anand said, “Government reforms like GST and RERA will reduce the tax burden on consumers and increase consumer confidence, encouraging them to invest in the sector. Combination of these initiatives is likely to increase transactions in the Real Estate industry in 2018. As we step into the New Year, our aspiration is to double our growth in the category.”
 
The OLX's study was based on interviewed people in Delhi-NCR looking to buy a home in the next six months, and sought to understand the user behaviour in an evolving real-estate market in the city.