COVID-19

COVID-19
’s
Buyers are back with new expectations!

PROPERTY BUYER'S SENTIMENT SURVEY 2ND EDITION | JULY 2020
Executive Summary
With the announcement of the Unlock phase by the
Government, we’ve started seeing slow but steady
improvements in the economy across various metrics. Business
establishments across the country are gradually being allowed to
open up in a phased manner with checks and guidelines in place.
As India’s leading property portal, we are closely and continuously
monitoring a wide array of Real Estate indicators to bring critical
insights for our clients.
Hence, we conducted this 2nd edition to our Property Buyer's Sentiment Survey in July,
2020 to understand the ‘mood of the buyer’ after the upliftment of the Pan-India
lockdown. Around 3045 buyers participated in this survey.
In the 1st edition of COVID-19 survey, we had mentioned how the Pandemic has not only
impacted the health of people but also the country's economy in a big way and how the
economy may continue to remain fluid till the time a permanent solution is out. But we
are happy to inform that the overall consumer sentiment is better than what it was two
months back.
As per the findings of our Property Buyer's Sentiment Survey - 2nd Edition
✓ The buyer’s sentiment has revived with 93% respondents positive on buying
properties. This shows a substantial increase from our April, 2020 survey where the
positive response was at 67%.
✓ The number of property searches and enquiries on our property portal have also
reached pre-COVID numbers.
✓ Recovery is dominated by end-users, as 87% of the respondents of our survey are

looking to purchase property for self-use. Strategic long-term investors are also active
and looking for attractive deals and long-term gains.
✓ Budget cuts look inevitable as both our surveys show that about 3/4th of the
respondents are looking at reducing their overall investment size. To accommodate the
reduced investment ticket size, buyers across the country are exploring innovative
ways such as efficient designs and space-saving tools.
We hope that the enclosed report helps you with a better understanding of the buyer's
sentiment and hence manage their expectations well. As we look towards the recovery
phase, it becomes imperative for all the Real Estate stakeholders to take the changed
preferences of the buyers in account and adjust their business models accordingly.
If you have any suggestions or feedback to share, please feel free to write in.
Stay safe & best wishes
Sudhir Pai
CEO | Magicbricks
sudhir.pai@magicbricks.com
PAGE 1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 2
Opinion matters - what property buyers are saying 3
Positive signs in Buyer sentiments 4

93% respondents positive on buying properties
Realignment in buying timelines 5

Buying timelines inching closer to pre-COVID times
The new reality! 6

Buyers are planning to cut overall investment budget by 10 to 30%
Buyers looking at various ways to accommodate budget cuts 7

Prices have been relatively stagnant in the market in last 3 months
Economic deals being given higher weightage 8

High demand for developers giving economical options across cities
Property visits and buying process become critical 9

1 in 4 buyers find property visit a challenge
Price decline arrested to 1-5% in Apr-Jun 2020 10

Delhi NCR and Mumbai resisted price decline
Buyers focusing on essentials 11

Gated Community top priority in Delhi NCR, also rated high in other cities
Buyers trying to minimize risks 12

Buyers focused on ready-to-move properties in metros
Survey methodology and respondent profiles 13
Contact Details 14
PAGE 2
Opinion matters – Top 6 things property buyers are saying
#1
“Builders should now be
ready to decrease the profit
#2 margins. Big projects are not
“I have shortlisted the a preference as there is an
properties but unable to additional cost on
visit the sites due to unnecessary amenities”
COVID; Not able to go out
because of Coronavirus”
#3
“Distress sales should
happen soon... giving
good opportunity to
those willing to buy”
#4
“Developers are giving
offers but are not ready
to pass on the price
reduction. They are giving
compact homes in budget.
#6
“ While property advertisement
have increased, a buyer like me
#5 will only act if prices offered are
“GST on under construction atleast 30% down from pre-COVID
projects need to be levels (as the) incomes have
reviewed” reduced by the same level”
Source:
4 Magicbricks Research
PAGE 3
Positive signs in Buyer sentiments

93% respondents positive on buying properties
With the announcement of Unlock 1.0, the overall economy has started adapting to the ‘new
normal’. We have started witnessing signs of potential market recovery with many businesses
resuming operations. In line with the positive economic indicators in India, consumer
sentiments appear to be more optimistic than it was two months before. In our recent survey,
93% of the respondents said that they are looking to buy property as compared to 67% in the
April, 2020 survey. About 32% of our respondents mentioned that they are searching for
properties on discounts. Interestingly, the majority of these respondents are second-time
home buyers which indicates that not only end-users but investors have also started looking
for opportunities.
✓ We see consistency across buyer categories, with 40% either actively looking to buy or
having shortlisted the property.
✓ As expected, only 4% buyers booked properties during the COVID-19 lockdown probably
due to strict restriction on movement during this period. Nevertheless, the good news is
that the sentiment has already started reflecting on the property searches across cities.
✓ Magicbricks data shows that the property buyers are back in the market, and the
number of property searches are already set to surpass the pre-COVID numbers.
✓ At a city level, markets in the South are leading the trend with Bengaluru and Hyderabad
showing the highest increase in property searches.
Exhibit1 – Green shoots visible - Property buyers optimism seems to be growing

Property buyers still concerned about COVID-19 but not as much as they were two months before
32% 31%
looking to 17% 9% 4%
actively plan to buy shortlisted booked
buy property plan to buy during
only looking to (6-12 (0-3 COVID-19
available at buy months) months)
discounts 7%
Not sure
of buying
plans
Property Searches
93% respondents planning to buy
NIFTY-50 property as compared to 67% in our
last survey in April, 2020.
Recovery evident across markets with

stock markets and property searches
Magicbricks Property Magicbricks Property showing similar growth pattern
Buyer's Sentiment Survey Buyer's Sentiment Survey
1.0 2.0
Notes: Real Estate market sentiments are represented by volume of consumer
Feb Mar Apr May Jun searches for properties on our website for the period starting from Feb 2020
to June 2020. Broader economy is represented by weekly average of NIFTY-50
benchmark Index.
Source: Magicbricks Research, NSE India , Propindex AMJ 2020,
PAGE 4
Realignment in buying timelines

Buying timelines inching closer to pre-COVID times
The COVID-19 crisis resulted in liquidity issues, with construction delays adversely impacting
the supply side and jobs whereas the economic uncertainty muted the demand side.
However, subsequent stabilization of the initial panic and adoption of new normal has led
to an improvement in buyer’s sentiment. With the fear of price drop settling down across
the country, the buyer is more confident today in making a purchase decision.
The significant difference between the pre-COVID and current buying timelines shows that
the purchase cycle is looking to revert to its natural trajectory slowly. The buyer timelines
are further expected to rationalize with buyers likely to either grab attractive opportunities
or rationalize their price expectations.
Exhibit 2 | Buying timeline move close to pre-COVID levels

Pre-COVID19 Property Buyer Property Buyer
Survey July, 2020 Survey April, 2020
95%
77%
68%
56% 61%
44% 37%
25% 25%
14%
13%
6% The graph represents the cumulative percentage of buyers on a timeline
Less than Within 6 Within 1 More than

3 months months year a Year
Source: Magicbricks Research
The ‘SILVER LINING’

Although COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country, the sign of recovery in the
European countries (Spain and Italy), low mortality rate in India and with some positive news
coming in on a cure very soon has provided a sigh of relief in the Indian market. While the
lockdown has equally affected the overall spending across the sectors, the market is coming
back to normalcy. The quick recovery in the market can also be attributed to the Indian
traditional culture of saving. Traditionally, Indians give paramount importance to the home-
ownership, which helped the Real Estate market to see a quick rebound.
With 87% of our respondents looking to buy property for self-use, the overall recovery
sentiment is dominated by end-users. In our opinion, long-term strategic investors are still
active in the market and looking for attractive deals and long-term gains. Interestingly, about
36% of the respondents said in the survey that they are not first-time buyers.
Exhibit 3 | 87% are looking for properties for self use and only 13% for investment
36% of the respondents said they are not first-time buyers
First-time buyer? Purpose of buying property?

Yes 64% Self-use 87%
No 36% Investment 13%

PAGE 5
The new reality

Buyers are planning to cut overall investment budget by 10 to 30%
With COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the economic growth, it has a significant toll on the
budget of homebuyers over the last three months. About 73% respondents to the 2nd
Edition of the survey have responded with a definite cut in their budget for purchasing a
residential property, ironing out the trend which our 1st edition of the survey in April, 2020
established.
However, this trend comes as a boon to the affordable housing segment, as the reductions in
the budget of homebuyers are expected to bring many new interested buyers to the
affordable housing bracket. Additionally, the buyers also plan to look for smaller
configurations with reduction in their budget.
Exhibit 4 | 3 out of 4 say they like to reduce the property purchase budget
Budget cuts looks inevitable as 73% choose to reduce the budget in both the surveys
2% 3%
25% 24% Likely to decrease
Likely to keep the

same
73% 73%
Likely to increase
Magicbricks Property Buyer Magicbricks Property Buyer

Sentiment Survey Apr 20 Sentiment Survey Jul 20
Out of the total respondents seeking to decrease the budget, a substantial 56% were looking
to reduce their budget by more than 20%. At the same time, 32% indicated that they are
trying to cut their home buying budget by 11-20%. With prices not showing any significant
downward trends, these budget cuts may lead to demand for smaller configuration homes to
reduce the overall investment ticket size.
While across all significant cities, 70%-80% of the respondents have seen a cut in their
budget, the maximum level of budget reduction seems to be in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi-
NCR and Mumbai.
Exhibit 5 | Analysis of budget cut across major cities in India

No Budget Cut 0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 30%+
Ahmedabad 29% Kolkata
Pune 28% Chennai
Chennai 26% Ahmedabad
Bengaluru 26% Pune
Mumbai 26% Delhi-NCR
Kokata 23% Hyderabad
Hyderabad 23% Bengaluru
Delhi-NCR 23% Mumbai
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Source: Magicbricks Research PAGE 6
Buyers looking at various ways to accommodate budget

cuts Prices have been relatively stagnant in the market in last 3 months
The potential buyers with a reduced pocket size are looking for attractive deals, seeking out
best price options without any preference to Developers (not worrying much about the track
record of the developer) and getting cheap loans.
Respondents are seeking other ways of reducing price,

without compromising on comfort or space. Some say they
are planning to:
✓ Pick smart and affordable space-efficient homes: With

reduction of budget, buyers are going for smaller but
space-efficient homes.
✓ Adopt space-saving smart furniture: Making use of

intelligent furniture designs like converting 2 rooms into 3
using partition and foldable or convertible sofas and beds.
Exhibit 6 | Ranking of key deciding factors in order of preference

Monetary factors rule the mind of the respondents
Magicbricks Magicbricks
Property Buyer's Property Buyer's
Sentiment Survey Sentiment Survey
Apr 20 Jul 20
#3 #1 Attractive deals/discounts
Focus on cutting
#1 #2 Price of the project cost / monetary
aspect
#6 #3 Availability of cheap loan
#5 #4 Timely completion
ROI and
job/business
#2 #5 Job/Business stability
stability taken a
backseat
#4 #6 Return on Investment

Economic deals being given higher weightage

High demand for developers giving economical options across cities
About 60% of the respondents across 7 out of 8 cities said that they would prefer to go with
any developer who is offering economical options, regardless of the name or reputation of
the developer. In our last survey conducted in April, 2020, about 55% of the respondents
showed the same sentiments.
Exhibit 7 | Representation of preference of developer

Respondents don’t have preference of developers and go majorly with lower price
68%
62% Any developer (Tier 1/2) who can
58% give most economical
54% 54% 55% 55%
% of Respondents
option/best deal
40%
Tier 1 developer with track
record of delivering on time
Any developer (Tier 1/2) with

track record of delivering on time
Developers are also working on reducing the price by offering smaller apartments and also
adopting innovative ways of providing more usable area (efficiency) and better services to
their customers.
Exhibit 8 | What should the developers focus on?

Developers focusing on reducing size while fitting in compact amenities to compensate
Developers are responding to buyer’s

budget cut by planning to:
• Build smaller
configuration houses
with adoption of technology
and space saving tools
• Adopt product
innovation in terms of
efficient design to
provide the consumer with
increased amenities in less
space
• Adopt technology to
reduce their own budget
which can be passed on as
discounts to buyers

Property visits and buying process become critical

1 in 4 buyers find property visit a challenge
Price discovery and timely handover of the project were always a challenge in the residential
market even before COVID-19 but have became even more important in the current scenario.
People in all age groups are concerned about the price uncertainty.
On the other hand, social distancing requirement and lockdown restrictions have led to a
new set of challenges emerging with one in four respondents expressing visiting property site
a significant problem to them. Respondents in the younger age bracket are more concerned
about visiting the property in this era of restricted movement and getting a loan from banks and
financial institutions.
Till recently, the Real Estate sector primarily used the traditional ways of property search,
site-visits and booking of properties. However, the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in increased
adoption of cutting-edge technology in all aspects of the buying cycle.
Exhibit 9 | Traditional challenges remain on top as new challenges emerged
Traditional Challenges New Challenges
#1 #1 Price Uncertainty #3 #3 Visiting property

sites
#2 #2 Timely handover of #4 #4 Getting loan from
the project bank/institutions
#5 #5 Registry and
documentation
Notes:
# Ranking as per Magicbricks Property Buyer's Sentiment Survey 1.0
# Ranking as per Magicbricks Property Buyer's Sentiment Survey 2.0
Magicbricks’ online platform is witnessing a surge in volume of property seekers post-

lockdown. Services like Live tour, webinars, digital visit of the flats and online documentation
are increasingly gaining traction amongst the market participants.
Source:
Source: Magicbricks
Magicbricks Research
Property Buyer's Sentiment PAGE 9
Price decline arrested to 1-5% in Apr-Jun 2020

Delhi NCR and Mumbai resisted price decline
The Real Estate sector is closely tied with economic activity, and the sudden lockdown
situation led to widespread initial panic in the market, as prices decreased by 2-9% across
cities during the month of April. However, our recent Propindex April-June 2020 report
confirmed that the price decline has arrested to 1-5% decrease during this quarter.
We spoke to several developers across the country and concluded that prices are unlikely to
go down any further. The inflation-adjusted 5-year price growth is already in negative
territory in some cities due to stagnant prices and increasing construction costs, leaving no
room for any price cut in the market.
The upliftment of buyer sentiments indicates that the market has already bottomed out, and
prices are likely to stabilize at this level, before slowly climbing upwards in the medium to
long-term.
In our opinion, buyers looking for self-use should finalize their deals if they are getting an
attractive deal and discount at a suitable location by a developer with a sound track record.
Exhibit 10 | Price dynamics post-COVID-19 across key cities

Mumbai and Delhi, the most expensive but served well by satellite cities for affordable properties
19,973
NCR -3% -1%
-1%
Ahmedabad -7% -4%
-4% -1.3%Kolkata
12,539
0.4%
3.3%
Mumbai -2% -1% -2% -2% Pune
0% -1.9% 6,762
6,137 6,314
-9% -5% Hyderabad
Bengaluru -5% -3% 4,482 4,807 4,923
0.5%
-1.5%
-4% -3% Chennai
Month on Month Price
change in April, 2020
2.3%
Kolkata
Pune
Ahmedabad
Hyderabad
Bangalore
Chennai
Mumbai
New Delhi
QoQ price change in

April-Jun 2020
YoY price change

in June 2020
Note: The bar charts represent the average price (INR per sqft.) of properties on the Magicbricks website as on June 2020

PAGE 10
Buyers focusing on essentials

Gated Community top priority in Delhi NCR, also rated high in other cities
In cities like Delhi-NCR and Kolkata, respondents rated ‘Gated Community’ as their top
priority, while cities of the West and South preferred ‘proximity to schools and local market’.
A lot of buyers realized that Gated Communities offer better management and safety during
pandemic type situations. It offers better tracking of movement of residents, visitors and
local vendors, providing a sense of security and privacy to the inhabitant.
“On an average, one in three respondents rated Gated Community as

the first criterion for their property shortlisting process”
The second most important factor identified was proximity to schools, local markets and
offices. Cities that grapple with traffic congestion, including cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru and
Pune had its respondents rating it a top priority. The trends are almost similar from our last
survey conducted in April, 2020.
Amenities such as club, gym and open areas, which used to be the major deciding factors a
few years back, have lost their sheen. With new priorities emerging during this COVID-19
pandemic and related lockdown, aspirational buying has taken a backseat.
Exhibit 11 | Ranking of buyer preference across cities in India

While the North and East cities are more inclined over Gated Communities, respondents in the West and South
are more focused on proximity to schools, local markets and offices
#1 #2 #3
Gated Near to schools, Amenities club/gym/open

Community local market, offices area
1 NCR 2 NCR 3 NCR
1 Ahmedabad
1 2 Ahmedabad
2 Kolkata 3 Ahmedabad
Kolkata 3 Kolkata
Mumbai 2 Pune Mumbai 1 Pune 3
2 1 Mumbai
3
Pune
1 Hyderabad
2 Hyderabad
3 Hyderabad
Bengaluru 2 Bengaluru 1 Bengaluru 3
2 Chennai
1 Chennai
3 Chennai
PAGE 6

PAGE 11
Buyers trying to minimize risk

Buyers focused on ready-to-move properties in metros
Respondents across all major metro cities will prefer to go exclusively with the ready-to-move
properties. Major factors responsible for this trend are construction delays expected on account
of migration of labour, short supply of construction material and relaxation of project timelines
by the RERA authorities across various states by 6-12 months. However, as compared to the
sentiment in April, 2020 survey, the number of respondents looking for ready-to-move has
reduced marginally from 84% to 82%.
Exhibit 12 | Buyer preference among ready/under-construction/new launches

Respondents in all major cities prefer ready to move in properties
Ready-to-move in completed or partly completed projects

Delhi-NCR 79% 14%
Mumbai 74% 17%
Bengaluru 67% 19%
Kolkata 62% 23%
Chennai 62% 20%
Pune 49% 25%
Hyderabad 49% 23%
Ahmedabad 47% 21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Ready-to-move in completed project Ready-to-move in partly completed project

Under-construction (UC) project New launch project
PAGE 12
Survey methodology and respondent profiles

Age profile of the
respondents The Magicbricks Property Buyer's Sentiment Survey 2nd Edition (during COVID-19
crisis) is a follow-up survey designed to understand the nerve of the Real Estate
3%
Below 25 buyers during the unlock phase of the Indian economy. This includes understanding
the current deciding factors for purchasing property, new property preferences andPAGE 6
28% 26-35
35%
consumption patterns. These factors are expected to lead to the emergence of
36-45 significant trends in the Indian Real Estate industry.
34% Above 45
The survey aims to provide all the stakeholders with an in-depth insight into the
property market from a consumer perspective during the COVID-19 crisis.
• The online survey was conducted from 20th June to 10th July, 2020 and saw 3045
participants
• The sample was carefully selected from the users of Magicbricks who had recently
conducted property search on our portal/app. Our objective is to give a fair
Employment representation of the overall population demographics in terms of geographical
profile distribution
• Thereafter, the responses which were collected were analyzed inhouse, and the
Self-employed 24%
data correlated to the present economic conditions
Salaried 76% • Not all figures may add up to 100%, as a result of rounding percentages and
excluding ‘neither/ nor’ and ‘don’t know’ responses from exhibits
• The survey was undertaken by Magicbricks Research team and the views expressed
in the report are completely unbiased
Total Respondents - 3045

First time buyer
64% 16% Delhi NCR
4%
Ahmedabad 6%
Kolkata
Mumbai 14%
Property investment
objective 7% 13% Hyderabad
Pune
Investment 13%
Bengaluru Others
Self-use 87% 11%
5%
Chennai 25%
PAGE 13
Magicbricks: India’s No. 1 property site

Magicbricks is India’s No.1 property site. With monthly traffic exceeding 20 million visits and with
an active base of over 1.4 million+ property listings, Magicbricks provides the largest platform for
buyers and sellers of property to connect with each other in a clear, transparent manner. With
this in mind, Magicbricks has innovated several product features, content and research services,
which have helped us, build the largest audience pool.
CEO
Sudhir Pai
Authors
Surabhi Arora | Head of Research
surabhi.arora@magicbricks.com
Devendra Lohmor | Chief Manager

devendra.lohmor@magicbricks.com
Suneet Saxena | Assistant Manager

suneet.saxena@magicbricks.com
For more useful data-driven insights, please visit www.magicbricks.com
Our recent research report
PropIndex Apr-Jun 2020 Property Buyer's Sentiment Plot Corridors in Hyderabad

12 cities analysis Survey 1st Edition Investment Perspective
COVID-19 & Ready to move COVID-19 & Remote COVID-19 & Home Loans
Viewing
Disclaimer: This report has been prepared using the data compiled by Magicbricks from multiple sources. The report is for general information only and
Magicbricks gives no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of any information within the report, and does not
accept any liability on the information which may or may not be subject to change from time to time due to Governmental or non Governmental
regulations/direction
© 2020 magicbricks.com PAGE 14

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Buyers are back with new expectations!

✓ Recovery is dominated by end-users, as 87% of the respondents of our survey are

Stay safe & best wishes

Opinion matters - what property buyers are saying 3

Positive signs in Buyer sentiments 4

Realignment in buying timelines 5

The new reality! 6

Buyers looking at various ways to accommodate budget cuts 7

Economic deals being given higher weightage 8

Property visits and buying process become critical 9

Price decline arrested to 1-5% in Apr-Jun 2020 10

Buyers focusing on essentials 11

Buyers trying to minimize risks 12

Survey methodology and respondent profiles 13

Opinion matters – Top 6 things property buyers are saying

Positive signs in Buyer sentiments

Exhibit1 – Green shoots visible - Property buyers optimism seems to be growing

Recovery evident across markets with

Realignment in buying timelines

Exhibit 2 | Buying timeline move close to pre-COVID levels

Less than Within 6 Within 1 More than

Source: Magicbricks Research

The ‘SILVER LINING’

First-time buyer? Purpose of buying property?

No 36% Investment 13%

Source: Magicbricks Research

The new reality

25% 24% Likely to decrease

Likely to keep the

Magicbricks Property Buyer Magicbricks Property Buyer

Exhibit 5 | Analysis of budget cut across major cities in India

Chennai 26% Ahmedabad

Bengaluru 26% Pune

Mumbai 26% Delhi-NCR

Kokata 23% Hyderabad

Hyderabad 23% Bengaluru

Delhi-NCR 23% Mumbai

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Buyers looking at various ways to accommodate budget

Respondents are seeking other ways of reducing price,

✓ Pick smart and affordable space-efficient homes: With

✓ Adopt space-saving smart furniture: Making use of

Exhibit 6 | Ranking of key deciding factors in order of preference

Source: Magicbricks Research PAGE 7

Economic deals being given higher weightage

Exhibit 7 | Representation of preference of developer

Any developer (Tier 1/2) with

Source: Magicbricks Research

Exhibit 8 | What should the developers focus on?

Developers are responding to buyer’s

Source: Magicbricks Research PAGE 8

Property visits and buying process become critical

Exhibit 9 | Traditional challenges remain on top as new challenges emerged

Traditional Challenges New Challenges

#1 #1 Price Uncertainty #3 #3 Visiting property

Source: Magicbricks Research

Magicbricks’ online platform is witnessing a surge in volume of property seekers post-

Price decline arrested to 1-5% in Apr-Jun 2020

Exhibit 10 | Price dynamics post-COVID-19 across key cities

Ahmedabad -7% -4%

QoQ price change in

YoY price change