The Covid-19 era presents a radically transformed real estate market, with preferences changing to accommodate new market realities. With Work-from-Home (WFH) a viable option even after the lockdown, many future homebuyers will shift to the peripheral areas for bigger homes and a better lifestyle – at more affordable prices, says Anuj Puri, Chairman – Anarock Property Consultants.

According to Puri, the previous ‘gold standard’ of the Indian housing – the walk-to-work / short drive to work, by definition only in and around central corporate workplace hubs – may shed some its popularity for the middle class. The central locations would retain their allure for HNI / C-suite buyers who can afford larger spaces there.

“The work-from-home concept may become the next fulcrum for home-buying decisions, where the walk-to-work option had held the longest sway. This and millennials’ new-found preference for buying rather than renting homes, are among the most prominent new residential real estate trends of the Covid-19 era. With the rise of the WFH culture, many may now prefer to live in more spacious and cost-effective homes in less central areas. While sufficient supply currently exists in most of the peripheries, this new demand will eventually also dictate fresh supply. Bigger homes, affordable prices and more generous open spaces in the peripheral areas will draw demand from tenants and buyers alike,” Puri elaborates.