Another blow of the global meltdown has been felt by the already bleeding
realty estate industry. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are avoiding coming
home this year and not investing in property, something that brokers
look forward to every year. NRIs from across Punjab prefer investing
in residential properties in and around Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Amritsar,
Patiala and Ludhiana. This year, however, they have decided to stay
put and not return home.
"The situation is very bad at present and is expected to grow
worse in future," says Kamaljeet Singh, president of the NRI Sabha
in Jalandhar. He added that the impact of the global meltdown has been
felt by all the sectors and real estate is one of the worst hit. Property
brokers across the city agree that the recession has further dealt a
blow on the real estate industry, which was already going through a
bad phase.
"The time between September and January is when we see deals
taking place, as this is the time when NRIs normally arrive in the city.
But no interest has been shown by the NRIs this year owing to the recession,"
says Gurpreet Singh, a property consultant. "North Indians tend
to invest in real estate as compared to south Indians who invest in
shares. There has certainly been a huge impact of the global financial
crisis on such investments. Many Indians have suffered financial losses
and that has affected their plans to invest in real estate in India,"
says Rawinder Singh Guru, a permanent resident of Canada.
