Delhi

The real estate market is in overdrive in the city, in its run
up to the Commonwealth Games in 2010. With a budget size of Rs.
9000 crore for 2007-2008, the Government is playing an aggressive
role in developing the right infrastructure. The city’s requirements
for accommodation will push up rates of capital as well as rentals.

The growing number of expatriates and the demand from the diplomats
in the city is pushing up rentals to as high as Rs. 114 per sq.
ft in neighborhoods like Vasant Vihar. Bungalows average between
Rs. 2 lakhs to Rs. 6 lakhs rent per month, depending on the locality.

In the last 12 months, rentals have been rising sharply with
the demolition and sealing drives on commercial establishments
in the city. In fact, rates in Delhi surpassed Mumbai, with 40%
escalation in Connaught Place, and 30% in the rest of the city.

With the advent of large format retailing, the demand for larger
commercial spaces will create further appreciation in commercial
property rates. Reliance Retail acquired commercial property worth
Rs. 980 crore in Vikas Puri, Rohini and Dwarka, with a total area
of 5 lakh ft., causing ripples in the property market.

Delhi’s residential property market is driven more by investors
than by end-users was the opinion most experts in the business
shared till the Master Plan 2021 was finally notified in February
2007. However, the increase in the FAR to 350 housing units on
a plot of 175 to 200 sq. metres, permission for taller structures
of upto 15 metres, and freeing up of 27,000 hectares of land in
Dwarka, Najafgarh, Asola and Narela to private developers will
see heightened activity in the residential property segment as
well.

Appreciation
New colonies developing on the periphery of the original city
limits drove city planners to strengthen infrastructure, causing
real estate prices to shoot up. The Delhi Metro and the series
of flyovers and under-passes criss-crossing the city on arterial
roads has shrunk distances and far-flung suburbs like Jasola and
Dwarka have woken up to the real estate boom, commanding rates
of Rs.4 -5000 per sq.ft.

In Dwarka, a further increase of 15-20 % is expected in 2007,
especially in sectors 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. East
Delhi, adjoining Noida, which will get connected by 2009, property
prices along the Metro, especially in sectors that will house
stations — 15, 16, 18, 32, the botanical garden and the golf
course a rise of 20-25 per cent can be expected where prices are
currently at Rs 4,000-5,000 per sq ft. Sectors 19, 26, 39, 40,
41, 47, 50, 51, 61 and 62 are also expected to gain. Once the
Metro reaches Noida, the connecting corridors will see a rise
of about 25-30 per cent

Capital values in Civil Lines, Ashok Vihar and Model Town have
touched Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 1.20 lakh per square yard. Apartments
are now priced at Rs. 3,000 to 4,000 per sq. ft. In Punjabi Bagh,
Rajourie Garden and Janakpuri, rates per sq. yard have appreciated
from Rs. 35-50,000 to Rs. 80,000 to one lakh. Apartments registered
a jump of 100 to 150% in the last one year

In East Delhi, prices of 2-room apartments have escalated from
Rs. 20 -40 lakh to Rs. 40-75 lakh. The countdown to the Commonwealth
games will see further dramatic changes in this part of Delhi.

The squeeze in the commercial property market has led to substantial
gains for landlords and lessors across Delhi, pushing up rentals
to unimaginable levels of Rs.100 to 150 per sq. ft.

NRI Real Estate Trends
As private developers will play a more active role in
the development of residential apartments in the Delhi Metropolitan
Area, NRIs could explore investment options in these projects.
The relaxed norms for construction within the city, with respect
to floor area ratio and height of buildings will trigger more
ambitious projects in hitherto undeveloped sections of Delhi.

DLF, Parsvnath and Ansals have luxury projects coming up in Delhi
which NRIs could take a look at. The NRI city by Omaxe in the
NCR is a self-contained township with amenities and facilities
that match international standards.

Photo: Jama Masjid, Delhi, India (2006) by Fredericknoronha, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.