In these uncertain times, deciding on the best investment option is a difficult task for most people. Everyone is on the lookout to make the highest returns in the shortest possible time without losing out on their principal amount. In fact, there is no investment that can give you high returns without a degree of risk involved.
If we are to look at the various investment options available, we will see that investing in equity does not assure a fixed return and also involves a high degree of risk, as it is market linked. Mutual funds are mostly equity linked and any fluctuation in equity markets will adversely affect the performance of the fund. Fixed deposits, is seen as a safe avenue, but there’s hardly any return on your investment, considering that the banks are constantly reducing interests on term deposits. Government bonds are safe investments assuring a fixed return, but the returns are not high and the duration is far too long.
Investing in gold is an option that is quite popular especially in India. It has always been considered wise to invest in gold, for its high liquidity. But in reality, you lose much more than gain when we try to sell off gold in the form of jewelry; so investing in gold is not such a wise option, after all.
Despite the host of investment options available today, let’s examine why real estate is still considered to be the best investment avenue. The Indian Real Estate Consumer report for April – May 2020 finds that 35% of investors prefer to invest in real estate than gold (28%), fixed deposits (22%) or stocks (15%).
Real Estate fetches returns in two ways; it gets you a capital appreciation and also earns a rental return. The apartment or house, or the plot of land that you invest in will appreciate well over a period of time. You can rent out the apartment or house and earn a good rental return as well. Apart from the capital appreciation, investing in real estate also provides you with tax benefits.
While investing in real estate, a few points should be borne in mind, so as to make the right choice. If you are looking to invest in an apartment, it is important to check out the credibility of the builder; how long has the builder been in business, the number of projects delivered, whether these projects have been delivered on time, the quality of construction etc. are a few important points to look out. Reading up on customer reviews would be very helpful. The location of the house or apartment decides the kind of value appreciation and rental returns you can expect.
You should thoroughly go through the plan of the apartment and decide whether it completely meets your requirement of a home. It doesn’t matter whether it is for your personal use or whether you are planning to rent it out. A well planned and laid out apartment with good amenities and ambience fetches better resale and rental returns. Some builders offer fitted out apartments, which will save you the hassle of getting it done yourself, even though this would be more expensive.
You can also consider investing in commercial properties in good locations, if you are planning on a bigger investment in real estate. The advantage is that the returns on investment, both in terms of rental and the asset value appreciation, would be much higher as compared to an apartment or a house.
Even though in the current pandemic scenario, people seem to be deferring their decision of home buying, possibly owing to liquidity concerns and general uncertainty, a recent survey conducted by the National Real Estate Development Council, shows that people will again start investing in real estate in the next six months. The pandemic has alerted people, especially the NRIs that it is indeed a necessity to have a home back in India. Those people who stay in rented homes have also realized the importance of having a home of their own.
“The addition of real estate to a portfolio of diversified assets can lower portfolio volatility and provide a higher return”says Investopedia. Investing in real estate properties is the best way to build a diversified financial portfolio, as real estate assets are real and tangible and provide a much greater level of security than any other investment option.
For more information on reliable and prudent real estate investment in Kochi, please contact: 9072369966
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRASIDHA PRABHAKARAN
The author of this blog is Prasidha Prabhakaran. She is a freelance marketing professional. Her journey in Real Estate began in 1995 when she joined Abad Builders. In the last 25 years of her career, she has worked in the different domains of Sales, Marketing and Customer Care with Builders in Kerala and also those with pan India operations. This vast experience has endowed her with profound knowledge of the Real Estate industry, both in Kerala and rest of India. She is currently engaged as a marketing consultant for Abad Builders.
