"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" said Oscar Wilde. History has witnessed in the past that only those persist in the struggle for existence who are willing to grow, who are not willing to be confined in only tried and tested path. Growth of people, economically reflected in the Purchasing Power Parity(PPP), is clearly reflected in the paradigm shift from comfort to luxury. For many people, comfort is not in sync with the contemporary status quo. They are of the staunch belief that it is luxury which is their prerogative and they deserve nothing but the best.
An insight into the Real Estate situation of Nagpur epitomizes just that. With the advent of the Indian growth story, there was a feel good sentiment about the improving condition of the people; a scenario showcased in the changing lifestyles. The genre of houses started treading into the territories of the luxurious ones in suave locales. There was a big upsurge in the retail sector as well that led to massive investment in Nagpur. Out of nowhere, we could see a rise in big imposing structures all over the city. This was not an ephemeral process, but the investment scenario was so whopping that it ensured the trend for at least a decade. Thus, there was a big increase in the demand to gain massive land in Nagpur, and as we know- Demand increases, price increases. This led the prices to shoot up and made property at various junctions of the Nagpur city nothing short of hot cakes.
Leading the bandwagon of this revolution is the MIHAN project's approval.There was a wide buzz about big IT, BPO, Health behemoths investing in the SEZ of Nagpur. This caused an unprecedented acclivity in the prices on Wardha Road that has still not plummeted. Nothing seemed to be a better option to a Nagpurian than investment on Wardha Road and hence the wild goose chase began. So again the same principle- Demand increases, Price increases. the prices actually shot up to a flabbergasting 500% at a certain point of time!!!!! Though a school of thought is pretty adamant on the fact that this was a conspired demand created vacuously, but not everyone understands the intricacies, hence for most of the people- This turned out to be the reality of realty.
The suburban areas on Katol road, Besa, Umred road have also shown similar trends for the simple reason that now the prices in the city are no more feasible for an upper middle class family. Fancy the behemoth Sahara City, Empress city who are working to create townships at par with the best residential colonies anywhere in the world. A comfortable accommodation at any of these would lighten your bank account( and burden your mind) by nearly a crore bucks!!! Now, how's that for the pricing mechanism. My experience at one of the Real Estate Developer Office left me gaping. They are coming up with a building in front of LAD college in Shankar nagar and are charging 1.2 crore for a 3 BHK. It seemed like a big slap even to sit there in their office and ask about the price, a sentiment I'm sure many people might share.
The suburban areas on Katol road, Besa, Umred road have also shown similar trends for the simple reason that now the prices in the city are no more feasible for an upper middle class family. Fancy the behemoth Sahara City, Empress city who are working to create townships at par with the best residential colonies anywhere in the world. A comfortable accommodation at any of these would lighten your bank account( and burden your mind) by nearly a crore bucks!!! Now, how's that for the pricing mechanism. My experience at one of the Real Estate Developer Office left me gaping. They are coming up with a building in front of LAD college in Shankar nagar and are charging 1.2 crore for a 3 BHK. It seemed like a big slap even to sit there in their office and ask about the price, a sentiment I'm sure many people might share.
The other posh residential areas like Civil Lines, Dhantoli, RamdasPeth, Dharam Peth and Shankar nagar have rates around 3K-3500 bucks per square feet followed by areas like Wardhaman Nagar, Surendra Nagar, Pratap Nagar and so on with a price bracket of over 2K per sq. feet. Take it as a growth story or call it a bull who has broken the shackles, the prices are for real.
But the slowdown that has marred the lifestyle has brought a dent all over the world hasn't left Nagpur Real Estate either. There is a slowdown in the speed at which the work of these townships was going and the process is almost stalled because of lesser bookings. So does that mean that the prices have met their upper circuit and are now on a U-turn? Its too premature to talk about that, but certainly it is a reality check for the realty prices.
But the slowdown that has marred the lifestyle has brought a dent all over the world hasn't left Nagpur Real Estate either. There is a slowdown in the speed at which the work of these townships was going and the process is almost stalled because of lesser bookings. So does that mean that the prices have met their upper circuit and are now on a U-turn? Its too premature to talk about that, but certainly it is a reality check for the realty prices.
To put it in a nutshell, the Nagpur Neev is strong and real estate is still a very good investment in the city and hence should be picked up. After all everyone dreams of their own comfortable Aashiyana . So let the Aashayein for the Aashiyana persist !!!!
Author Krishnakant Jonnalgadda blogs at http://ourintellect.blogspot.com
