Indian, including myself and my family, love investing in two things – property and gold, no matter what. Even though 2020 was a difficult year for the entire world, it hardly affected this deep-rooted habit of obsessively investing in gold as well as properties. The real estate market in India saw a downward dip in the initial months of the lockdowns, but since the lockdowns were eased, India, being one of those few countries that are already on the path of recovery from the economic damages caused by the global pandemic, saw an upward climb in the real estate market.
Now, Indians are investing in property as much as (if not more than) before. Nothing will deter the Indian population from investing in a good piece of land or a well-built house or apartment. Though, one significant change that can be observed in the priorities of the Indian buyers while considering a new house is to look for the extra space to be able to establish a home office. During the pandemic, while many lost their jobs, a lot of people were asked to work from home, and thus began the new culture of working from home in India. Where earlier, this concept was only rarely seen in a few new start-ups, today we all have accepting working-from-home as the new normal.
According to Magicbricks COVID-19 Property Buyers Sentiment Survey Pune, the city where I live, is one of the 2 least affected cities in the Indian real market sector post-Covid-19.
The Economic Times, India
So when Vishal and I also began looking for a place to buy, our priorities included having two separate home-offices/workspace for both fo us. Earlier where we shared one of the biggest rooms in our bungalow as our shared office space, we are now looking for an even bigger place to have our 2 separate workplaces so that we both can do our work dedicatedly throughout the year.
Many people, including us, now actually prefer this way of life to the old one where one had to constantly be away from home in order to pay the bills. Now you can simply stay at home and do the work. But of course, the most important thing that is needed is the privacy of the extra room or space and that is why post-COVID, people are looking for bigger places and extra rooms in apartments.
In fact, with the humongous evolution of digital markets and the need for social distancing, there are now various ways in which you can not only view the properties online on innumerous websites but can also calculate the mortgage online when you plan or decide to buy/rent a property. One such website is Mortgage Calculator.
This website has a lot to offer – it can quickly and efficiently estimate mortgage affordability based on one person (or even two people’s) income, you can also find graphs of loan repayment along with monthly and yearly amortisation tables and printable amortisation schedules, etc. Even though this website is primarily for the UK market, it suits the needs of every country’s market and has personally helped me in calculating the mortgage for the property we are planning to buy.
Buying a home is a huge deal for us and I am personally really grateful to such online devices that can help buyers to not only view but also help in the planning of one’s finances. Corona has affected the entire world, but in a way, it has brought the entire world together too.
The Reading Bud 