Data: 11.2% in Rural, and 7.2% of Surveyed Households in Urban Areas Constructed/Purchased a House After 31 March 2014
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 14, 2023
The 78th Round of National Sample Survey by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) covered key information of multiple indicators to gather crucial data regarding the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The survey report contained data on households that purchased/constructed a house after 31 March 2014.
The 78th Round of National Sample Survey by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) covered key information of multiple-indicators to gather crucial data regarding the progress of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, the survey also gathered data on the purchase/construction of residential property by a household after 31 March 2014, and on migration, as per the request of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The survey covered whole of India excepting few regions of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At the national level, a total of 11,63,416 people (including 7,13,501 in rural areas and 4,49,915 in urban areas) and 2,76,409 households (including 1,64,529 in rural areas and 1,11,880 in urban areas) were surveyed in this round.
In today’s story, we look at the data on purchase/construction of residential properties by households.
At All-India level:
Rural Indians dominate in new houses purchased/constructed after 2014.
In-depth data was gathered regarding the purchase or building of house(s) or flat(s) for residential use after 31 March 2014, including the number of new house(s)/flat(s) purchased/constructed, if the new house/flat was purchased/constructed by the surveyed household for the first time, whether it was owned by the surveyed household as of the date of survey, etc.
At an all-India level, the percentage of surveyed households constructed/purchased any house/flat stands at 11.2 for rural areas and 7.2 for urban areas. Further, the percentage of those who purchased/constructed any house/flat for the first time among the above stands at 47.5 and 57.9 for rural and urban areas respectively. It indicates that while rural areas dominate in purchase or construction of house/flat, less than half of them are purchased/constructed for the first time whereas, six out of every ten households who constructed/purchased house/flat in urban areas are first timers.
Among the social groups, STs dominate other social groups in percentage of those who purchased/constructed house or flat after 2014, including for the first time, in rural areas, whereas OBCs dominate in urban areas in above parameters.
Banks dominate funding ecosystem in urban areas for construction/purchase of new house/flat.
Information on the source of financing for the households who purchased/constructed new house/flat after 31 March 2014, for the first time and owned the same as on date of survey was gathered in terms of four categories: (a) bank, (b) private finance (NBFC, etc.), (c) own financing, and (d) any other source. The term “any other source” in this context refers to funds obtained from the central or state governments, loans obtained from the Life Insurance Corporation or the Postal Life Insurance, refundable loans, or advances from PPF accounts of public sector offices, loans obtained from friends, relatives, or moneylenders, among other things.
The data on source of financing indicates that banks dominate the funding ecosystem in urban areas whereas financing in rural areas is still heavily dependent on other sources. This asymmetric distribution is indicative of the level of access to financial services in rural and urban areas. The share of own and private financing is almost similar for both urban and rural areas.
Larger floor area and a greater number of rooms in urban areas than rural areas
The data on the average floor area, average number of living and other rooms of the flat/house that are constructed/purchased for the first time after 31 March 2014, for residential purposes and that are owned by the surveyed household on the date of survey is collected in this round. A living room is defined as the one with at least four square meter carpet area and a height of at least 2 meters (from floor to highest point of ceiling) and is usually used for the purposes of living.
It is found that newly constructed/purchased houses or flats in urban areas have greater floor area measured in square meters and also has a greater number of living and other rooms as compared to rural areas. From the data on first-time purchases/constructions, it is evident that urban areas dominated rural areas. And combining this data with the above data indicates that though the share of first-time buyers in urban areas is high, they aspire for a better house design while people in rural areas prefer small homes. The setting of the location i.e., urban, or rural also impacts the way people decide on their home design.
Interestingly, more than 44% of the households in rural areas have an average floor area between 30 to 60 square meters, while similar share of urban households has an average floor area between 60 to 160 square meters. In other words, the maximum floor area for rural households is the minimum floor area for urban households.
At State-level:
Chhattisgarh & Telangana have seen more first-time purchasers in rural areas than urban areas.
The state-level data of the percentage distribution of households who purchased/constructed any house/flat for the first time after 31March 2014 shows that Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand are the only three states among large states that have seen rural areas dominating urban areas. In Telangana, 77.5 percent of people purchased/constructed for the first time in rural areas, while it is 73.1 percent for urban areas. Similarly, for Chhattisgarh, this percentage is 80.4 and 67.5 respectively for rural and urban areas. Rest all major states have urban areas featuring more first-time purchases/constructions than rural areas.
Stark difference in rural and urban areas in Telangana and Jharkhand in source of funding
In terms of funding new purchase/construction, among 18 major states, only Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have greater share of people with ‘banks’ as the primary source of funding in rural areas as compared to urban areas. Similarly, Punjab is the only state in where people sourcing finance from ‘other sources’ are higher in rural areas than urban areas.
Further, in Telangana, 7.5 percent in rural areas had banks as major source of finance while the same is 49.1 percent in urban areas. In Jharkhand, 6.1 percent in rural areas stated banks as major source when compared to 23.6 in urban areas.
Similarly, funding from ‘other source’ in Telangana in rural areas stood at 66.4 percent, and 30.9 percent for urban areas, whereas funding from ‘other source’ in Jharkhand stood at 61.7 percent in rural areas, while for urban areas it is 21.2.
Featured Image: 8th Round of National Sample Survey