Should You Purchase an Older Home? Here are Some Possible Benefits

With Indian home prices increasing over the first nine months of the year, due to increases in the costs of raw materials and higher demand, many buyers are considering older houses. These mostly have lower price tags on account of periodic depreciation. At the same time, this may hover between 3-5% for some cases, and even go up to a sizable 15-20% as well. Some experts opine that new housing units may sometimes be similarly priced as older homes in neighborhoods which are highly aspirational for buyers. 

Price differences are sometimes based on the developmental stages for new properties. With projects nearing completion, pricing gaps may also come down. At the same time, land is often unavailable in prime neighborhoods and new projects are not always possible in these areas. Older houses will thus command a higher price in such cases. 

Kanika Gupta Shori, the Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Square Yards, stated that older houses are mostly developed on land parcels which are larger, while they may have bigger rooms and sometimes larger yards too. Buyers can sometimes obtain attractive deals in case of these properties. Ownership stakes may witness greatly enhanced value in case of redevelopment in the future as well. Older homes also give buyers an opportunity to see the property for themselves before buying. Also, tax benefits can be availed instantly without any additional pre-EMI costs as well. 

Kanika Gupta Shori also opined that older houses may however require repairs more frequently while also ranking lower on the energy efficiency quotient. Banks are also reluctant to lend money for buying older homes at times. Buyers should also consult experts with regard to carefully scrutinizing older houses in terms of their condition. Older houses may also miss modern amenities at times and parking space may also be a constraint for these properties.