Technologies and corridors
Axiom Estates company offers an increasing number of apartments and detached houses in complexes under construction in India every year. The company's head office is located in Kolkata, and branches are located throughout the country, including in the smallest state of the country – Goa, which is currently the main destination for foreign buyers. The head of Axiom Estates, Rajesh Goenka, says that if you look at the official data, you can understand why the development of the real estate market in India is often compared with the successful experience of China. "Now the country lacks about 20-30 million housing units. In such conditions, in order to meet the growing demand by 2030, it is necessary to build at least 5 million objects annually," he believes.
A quarter of the world's youth live in India, a country where 54% of the population is under 25. "Many Indians used to live and work abroad,– says Rajesh Goenka. "Now they are returning to India and have higher housing requirements than their parents, and it is not so easy to find quality housing here." There are many developers in India, and Axiom Estates expects to gain a reputation for selling only the best properties. Now they are selling housing in complexes such as Nitesh Forest Hills in Whitefield, a suburb of Bangalore. This first-class complex occupies more than 28,000 sq. m. m in an area called the "IT corridor" due to the fact that there are many international companies here. The complex includes luxury apartments with two and three bedrooms. Buildings and apartments are designed in such a way that as much light as possible enters the rooms through the windows and the residents retain a sense of privacy. On the territory of the complex there is a meditation center, an outdoor jogging track, a gym, a swimming pool, a playground, as well as a shopping center with a supermarket. Apartment prices start from 50,000 euros.
In another "IT corridor", in the south of the country, in the heart of Chennai, on the Old Mahabalipuram Road (the road to the city of Mahabalipuram), there is the Olympia Opaline complex from Axiom, which, as the developer promises, "will change your idea of urban life." In eight towers among picturesque gardens and ponds there are apartments with two and three bedrooms. The complex offers owners a wide range of services and entertainment, including a swimming pool, Jacuzzi, tennis court, cricket, football, badminton courts, as well as a bar, cafe and restaurant. The minimum cost of housing in Opaline is 70,000 euros.
The future for the middle class
One of the largest Dubai developers Emaar Properties recently signed an agreement with the Indian company MGF, which resulted in the formation of a new company Emaar MGR, which has become one of the most important developers in the country. Now Emaar MGR attracts record volumes of foreign direct investment in the real estate sector for India – about $4 billion is expected to be invested in projects that will be conducted in the vicinity of New Delhi, Hyderabad, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
In Delhi suburbs such as Gurgaon, the vast majority of the population is a growing middle class, with many residents working in rapidly developing industries – IT and trade. Usually the roads in India are crowded with cars and sacred cows – but not in this area: here we should rather talk about shiny highways and magnificent skyscrapers. "The success of Gurgaon can be compared with the fate of Dubai, because these neighborhoods are considered a symbol of the new India. In recent years, the value of real estate has been growing significantly, thanks to which the number of people willing to invest in this part of the country is constantly increasing," says Sebastian Siddiquai of the real estate subsidiary Emaar – Hamptons’ International. "We have just completed the first phase of the construction of apartments and villas in The Palm Drive, the main complex of Emaar MGF in Gurgaon, and the results exceeded our expectations."
By the way, European real estate experts note that home buyers from India are very well aware of the state of the most popular markets and are willing to invest in such traditional destinations as the UK, Spain and Eastern Europe. "Stable capital growth is obviously the main factor in the choice of an object by Indian buyers, but the quality of construction, safety of life, transport accessibility, infrastructure and a variety of services are also important for them. And the Palm Drive complex has all these advantages," sums up Sebastian Siddiquay.
Sea, business and glamour
The fact that New Delhi is waiting for success among local and foreign investors is obvious, but the country with a billion population is not limited to one promising city. Mumbai, the country's largest city, located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, is quickly earning a reputation on the wave of business activity that has long been observed in this region thanks to Indian Bollywood. Real estate in the cosmopolitan center of Mumbai is in high demand, and inflated land prices have forced developers to move to the suburbs. It is here that developers are building blocks for specialists and managers looking for affordable housing. Shahzad Batti of Landmark International states: "India's growing middle class is creating a high demand for residential real estate, and our developers are helping to meet it by building residential centers in the suburbs of India's financial capital Mumbai." Landmark International company sells housing in a complex near Mumbai from one of the leading real estate developers in the country - Sigrun Realties. Hill View Complex is located 150 km from the city and only 5 km from the new special economic zone, where many enterprises are located. It is easy to get here from the new international airport. Hill View with an area of 90 hectares offers apartments and villas. The complex is protected from external noise, sports centers for the whole family, theme parks, parking for cars are located on its closed territory, round-the-clock security is provided, internal telephone communication works. A half-hour drive from Hill View are the Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani hills, famous for their strawberry plantations, picturesque Lingmala Waterfalls and Vienna Lake.
Housing prices in Hill View start from 50,000 euros, while, according to Shahzad Batti, an annual 7% rental income is guaranteed for 5 years, which makes the complex an attractive object for investment. "Now that restrictions on foreign direct investment in the real estate sector have become less stringent, India presents excellent investment opportunities, despite the fact that an increase in the cost of housing is inevitable. This attracts the attention of prudent investors from all over the world," the expert says, predicting capital growth of up to 30% over the next few years.
