Why buy property or apartment in prime residential area in Kerala?

If you look at property trends in the major IT cities in India, especially Bangalore or Hyderabad, you would notice a peculiar trend. Once the influx of IT companies and IT SEZ's come into the city, the first areas to appreciate in terms of capital values and rental incomes is the CBD (Central Business District or City Center). 

In an earlier article we had mentioned how different factors affect property appreciation. Amongst these the proximity to CBD was a critical criterion in property appreciation. In Bangalore as more people moved in to the city in the last decade, the space crunch near CBD meant developers looked for areas where IT SEZ's could spring up. The first of these was Electronic city in Hosur road, which saw steep appreciation in 2003-2007.

During this period however as companies could not get enough space in and around electronic city, more companies moved to Whitefield, Sarjapur Road and Domlur which sprang up during late 2000's as attractive destinations. Since Senior management of these companies wanted plush real estate, property prices in these areas saw a major upswing in this period. The point we are trying to make is that as new areas emerge property prices sees appreciations of 20 to 30% year on year for a particular period, and then seems to stagnate or grow slower with time.

When it comes to Trivandrum, due to fewer options available for land within the city limits at places like MG Road, Kowdiar, Statue, Vazhuthacaud, Pattom etc., builders and developers are more likely to come up with projects in the suburbs or new areas in and around Kazhakuttam which have land availability at relatively affordable rates.

Now going back to the Bangalore scenario, today areas like Hebbal which came up as hot destinations in the last 2 to 3 years due to the proximity to Manyata Embassy Tech Park, has property values from 4000 to 8000 per sq.ft. The advantage is two fold with these areas, as they offer the resident a place close to work and about 30 minutes from the CBD. While the apartments in the CBD itself in Bangalore record values of upto 30,000 per sq.ft, those in Mumbai come to close to 70,000 per sq.ft. especially in South Mumbai.

So what's the takeaway? The Kerala real estate development seems to be following a similar trend like Bangalore. The Info park in Kochi or the Technopark in Trivandrum are the hot IT destinations at the moment. As time passes, new areas would emerge, however MG road and posh residential areas within proximity to CBD would only appreciate faster. A prudent investor or home buyer should thus look for prime residential areas if they have availability to sufficient funds to go for such a property. Rental values from these properties might be similar to a property in the suburbs in the short term, however capital value of the property would be much higher in the longer term. 

Whether values will touch 30,000 per sq.ft like Bangalore? Only time will tell. But one can be reasonably sure that a decade or two down the line, the reality in Trivandrum may not be too different.

Bangalore or Trivandrum. Where do you buy your next flat?

For most IT professionals who have been working in Bangalore for over 5 years, the decision quickly crops up whether to go for an investment in Bangalore or Kerala.They have enough disposable income and most want to go for a bank loan which they can pay off in another 15 to 20 years with their earnings.

Bangalore is one of the most significant real estate markets in the country. Not only is Bangalore retaining its popularity as the favoured IT destination but is also attracting many NRIs, HNIs and investors to invest in the real estate market.The city however faces a crumbling infrastructure primarily owing to the migration of people from across India and other states. The government of Karnataka is doing its bit in Bangalore by developing the 2nd phase of the Metro as well as developing stretches of Outer Ring Road and making it a signal free corridor.

As far as Kerala is concerned. over the last decade NRIs primarily residing in Gulf countries have invested in real estate. It would however confuse a relatively new home buyer as to why propery prices in cities like Trivandrum are much higher compared to places like Bangalore. Taking an example, a prime residential apartment in Vellayambalam or Kowdiar commands a square feet rate of approximately 6000, whereas some of the hot upcoming areas in Bangalore like Sarjapur Road or Hennur Road commands in the the range of 4000 - 4500 per sq.ft.

The reason behind this is quite simple - Scarcity of land in "God's own country" along with escalating prices due to land grabbing. In addition the Kerala building rules which prohibit construction beyond a certain number of floors unless the building has appropriate road frontage and other parameters met, has meant that real estate developers have to shell out a lot more to buy the appropriate amount of space to raise a building.

The case is different with Bangalore. The new areas which have developed had previously been marsh lands or un-utilised space which is now being used for gated communities or residential apartments. The city is now spreading out towards Yelahanka (near the Devanahalli airport) and Kanakapura road (due to the metro 2nd phase coming up there).

Given the scarcity of land in Kerala and considering an influx of about 200,000 software professionals who are likely to work in the state by 2017, the property prices are only likely to increase. The increases would be much more pronounced within the city limits of Kochi and Trivandrum and the IT hubs compared to other parts. So a prudent investor looking for returns in 6 to 7 years, could look for a good deal in Trivandrum compared to a similar investment in Bangalore.  In Bangalore, growth in rates are much likely to remain steady and not go into a spiral. Expected increase in the short term should be around 10-15% per annum, given that new residential areas are springing up on a regular basis and there is still a lot of inventory being created in the city.

Having said that for a long term investment, Bangalore would still offer equally good prospects considering it could become a large metro like Mumbai or Delhi in about 15 to 20 years time. The choice ultimately resides with the buyer in terms of preference towards managing the property, place where he or she would like to get settled etc.