Why buying a house during monsoon is beneficial

A blustery downpour is an unwritten invite to settle snugly at home, munching on hot pakoras and sipping tea. When it seems a drudgery to go to office, why would one want to brave the elements and go looking for a house? Simply because if you are willing to slosh through puddles and get caught in the traffic snarl, house hunting during the rains could bag you a good deal.




Bargain for lower rates



For most developers across the country, the monsoon is usually a lean season in terms of sales. It's not just the weather that has people putting off the purchase of property, but also because it is considered inauspicious to buy anything for about two weeks during this period (because of shraadh or pitrapaksh). Buyers prefer to wait till the festival season to buy real estate. So, in order to boost sales, developers are willing to offer 'monsoon discounts'.



"Many people postpone buying a house during these months. This adds to the existing inventory of the real estate developer. The builder, on his part, wants to get rid of it so he can start a new project in the upcoming festival season. He could be facing a liquidity crunch too, so he readily gives out discounts," says Yashwant Dalal, president of the Estate Agents Association of India (EAAI).



While only a handful of developers advertise it as a 'monsoon discount', most are willing to offer lower rates to serious buyers. The quantum of discount varies for different cities, depending on how badly it is affected by the monsoon. So, the quantum of discount in Mumbai and Kolkata is likely to be higher than that in, say, Delhi and Chennai. "In a city like Mumbai, a buyer can expect discounts ranging from 10-20%," says Santosh Naik, managing director and chief executive officer of Disha Direct, a Mumbai-based real estate marketing company.



In the current season, the deals for buyers are likely to be even better as sales have been down in most cities for some time now. "In the past three quarters, the demand for property has come down, and during this monsoon, developers have no option but to give discounts to sell," says Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liases Foras, a real estate research firm. "It's expected that property sales will continue to be slow over the next few months due to the monsoon and holiday season," adds Sanjay Dutt, CEO, Jones Lang LaSalle India.

Besides the lure of discounted property prices, buyers can usually avail of the monsoon special offers on home loans by banks. Though not many banks are likely to offer formal discount offers this year because of the recent rate hikes by the RBI, most might be willing to negotiate the rates and charges depending on your credit profile.