Finalising Housing Decisions From Lead-To-Buy Down To 26 Days In H1

This can be attributed to the transparency that the sector has seen over the past few years owing to the weeding out of non-serious players and emergence of national level developers

With housing emerging as the country’s most-preferred investment option, the time it takes for property seekers to convert to buyers is a critical metric to gauge the overall demand.

The latest Anarock data indicates that this conversion time (from first lead to actual booking) is reducing steadily and stands at about 26 days in H1 FY2025, against the highest peak of 33 days in FY 2021.

The lead-to-conversion time was at its lowest at 25 days in FY 2019 and FY 2024. If we compare the current trends with those of a year ago, there is an increase of a day in H1 FY2025 - it was 25 days in FY 2024.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, Shiwang Suraj, founder and Director of Gurugram-based property consulting firm InfraMantra, says, “Property priced both between Rs. One to two crore and those over Rs. three have seen the highest demand as is evident from the quick sell out that we have experienced across several projects in Gurugram over the past few quarters. The report clearly highlights the lead to buy time reducing in this category.”

This can be attributed to the transparency that the sector has seen over the past few years owing to the weeding out of non-serious players and emergence of national level developers with strong legacy and financial heft to complete the project, deliver on the promises and ensure a sound financial investment by way of strong rental yield and capital appreciation, he said.

A deeper analysis of the budget category data shows that ultra-luxury homes (priced at Rs. three croreand above) involve the lowest conversion time, clocking in just 15 days in H1 FY 2025. Back in FY 2024, it was 22 days, thereby reducing by a whole week.

AnujPuri, Chairman of Anarock Group, says, "Ultra-luxury homes buyers are financially equipped to make quicker decisions. Also, high-end homes are currently in their greatest demand and desirable inventory tends to sell out fast, necessitating a need for speed." Out of all budget categories, buyers of homes priced between Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. one crore took the most time (about 30 days) to decide on buying a home from the day they first got a lead to paying the booking amount.

The conversion for homes priced between Rs. One crore and Rs. three crore stood at 27 days in H1 FY 2025. In FY 2024, conversion time taken was highest for homes priced between Rs. One crore and Rs. two crore, almost 32 days, while properties priced between Rs. Two crore and Rs. three crore took just 26 days to be booked. Affordable homes saw a minor reduction in the conversion time – from 27 days in FY 2024 to 26 days in H1 FY 2025.

Essentially, buyers took a longer time to book homes in FY2021 than they are taking today, reflecting the current strong demand momentum.

Given that the last few years have seen a surge in new supply by branded developers, buyers feel empowered to make quicker decisions as their confidence in these players is high.