Non-resident Indians from the US dominate real estate sales in Bengaluru; 2BHK and 3BHK housing units most popular

Almost 40% of NRIs invested in North Bengaluru. The most preferred investment options are 2 and 3 BHK apartments, comprising 78% of housing sales in Bengaluru

Bengaluru continues to attract non-resident Indian buyers who account for almost 15% of housing sales in the city. The demand for real estate in the IT capital is primarily driven by NRIs from the US, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Saudi Arabia with a majority of them preferring to invest in 2 and 3 BHK units.

Bengaluru continues to attract non-resident Indian buyers with the share of sales touching almost 15%. The demand for housing is primarily driven by NRIs from the US (Representational photo) (Unsplash)

The US has outpaced other countries by a significant margin in terms of demand and transaction. Demand has also increased from NRIs based in Singapore, UAE, Australia, and Saudi Arabia, data shared by Nobroker showed.

Preferred investment options in Bengaluru

The most preferred investment options are 2 and 3 BHK apartments, comprising 78% of sales. North Bengaluru was the most popular investment destination for NRIs with almost 39.7% investing in the area followed by East Bengaluru with 37.7%, South Bengaluru with 18.1%, West Bengaluru with 3.9% and Central Bengaluru with 0.5%, data shared by Nobroker showed.

The highest traction of NRI buyers is in the North, accounting for almost 40% of sales, followed by 38% in the East and 18% in the South. The average ticket size in the North stands at ₹1.1 crore, while in the East, it is ₹1.51 crore, and in the South, it is ₹1.13 crore, Saurabh Garg, co-founder and chief business office at Nobroker told HT Digital.

In the East, the most preferred micro-locations are Sarjapur, Varthur, Gunjur, and Whitefield, while in the North, the preferred locations are towards Devanahalli and Hebbal micro markets.

The most preferred investment options are 2 and 3 BHK apartments, comprising 78% of sales. Among these, 2 BHK units account for 41%, 3 BHK units for 37%, while plots and 4 BHK/duplex/villa contribute 9% each, the data showed.

These buyers are predominantly working professionals seeking investment opportunities with good rental incomes and future appreciation. There are no premiums attached to the projects preferred by NRI buyers, but they tend to invest or buy from reputed Grade A developers only.

NRI buyers also actively seek other services ranging from management services to legal assistance to smoothen their property transactions, said Garg.

NRIs account for 15% of housing sales in Bengaluru

According to Nesara B S, chairman, Concorde, NRI buyers account for almost 15% of their overall sales. “This has increased in the last two years. This stood at 10% earlier. The highest demand is from Gulf countries followed by the Indian diaspora from Europe, then US and Australia. Most of them prefer 3 BHK apartments and villas,” he said.

While NRIs choose to invest in 2, 3 and 4 BHKs. More often than not, they target the higher end of the spectrum. From a sales perspective, NRI contribution would be around 15% on a year-on- year basis. “Most of our bookings are either through our GCC office or through trade expos that happen abroad. Sometimes we also have enquiries when they visit Bengaluru during holidays,” said Viswa Prathap Desu, COO, Residential, Brigade Group.

NRIs form a significant percentage of Puravankara’s business as well. “NRIs typically prefer larger homes and gated communities with a clear focus on amenities, security and property management services. NRI contribution to our overall business is in the range of 12 to 15% and we see growing traction from markets like GCC, US (both east and west coast) followed by SEA and Europe (including the UK),” said Abhishek Kapoor, Group CEO, Puravankara Ltd.