News: Overseas Uncertainty Keeps NRI Money in Indian Homes: Lodha-11-08-2026

Uncertainty abroad is pushing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to secure a home base in India, and US-based buyers are expected to follow the same pattern for immigration-related reasons, Abhishek Lodha, MD, Lodha Developers, said during the company’s investors’ call for Q1 FY27.

He said about Rs 350 billion flowed from India into Dubai real estate last year and a material part of that will now stay in India.

On the Middle East crisis, Lodha said the conflict had not been resolved by the end of Q1 as the company had assumed, but the effect on demand is quite moderate. Middle East NRI buyers make up about 4% to 5% of its sales, roughly a third of its total NRI business, and sentiment among them remains subdued.

Despite the prolonged US-Iran war, the company expects to maintain its pre-sales guidance. Asked whether an end to the war could bring an upside, Lodha said it was very difficult to form a view without knowing when and how it would end and how that would affect demand. So far the impact is contained, he said, and the guidance can be reviewed once the conflict actually ends.

On costs, Lodha said the supply chain is about 95% domestic, so availability has not been a problem, though energy-intensive input costs have risen. If the situation lasts a full year, project construction costs could rise by 1% to 1.5%. By comparison, the company’s construction cost inflation since April 2022 has averaged around 3% annually.

He said the impact does not look materially negative for FY27 delivery on present evidence, and that if Russia-Ukraine is a guide, such volatility works itself out over the medium term.

In April 2026, Lodha had put the crisis’s impact on construction costs at around 3-5% of overall costs, with gas-dependent materials worst hit and the effect on margins "very nominal". He had also reported a sales shortfall in March from Middle East-based NRIs and some moderation in luxury deal closures.

During the call, Lodha stressed that land monetisation is a planned, recurring pillar of the business and not an exceptional item. The company holds about 660 acres at its data centre park in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Of the 370-acre first phase, about 130 acres have been monetised, and about 150 acres more are to be monetised over the next 3-4 years, generating close to Rs 10,000 crore of sales, he said.