Happy

ANY investment in Kerala’s real estate now, particularly in the rapidly expanding Kochi, could reap handsome returns, a builders’ association said yesterday.

George E George, secretary and M M Jose, joint secretary, of the Kerala Builders Forum, told Gulf Times that the south Indian state, Kochi in particular, was booming.

“Any investment in buildings now will appreciate by 100% in two to three years. Rental income could grow by up to 10%”, they said.

The duo is in town in connection with a property exhibition, starting today at the Regency Hall, on the D Ring Road.

The exhibition, in which 39 builders from different areas in Kerala are taking part, ends at 1pm tomorrow. Today, it is open from 10am to 10pm.
The exhibitors are offering flats and villas in such areas as Kochi, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Thiruvalla and Munnar. They range in value from Rs2mn to 10mn.

Two financial agencies - HDFC and SBI are offering spot loans of up to 85% of the value of the property.George and Jose listed a number of reasons for the market explosion in Kochi and the rest of the state. They included the government approval for the Smart City, which would create 100,000 new jobs, clearance for the Vallarpadam Container Terminal and the expansion of Info Park, which will need an extra 65,000 staffers.

Besides, lots of fresh investments were pouring into the city, he remarked. The total investment in the next four-five years in the state would be more than Rs4300mn, they said.

“Kerala is growing as never before,” he added.The best indication of its potential was the fact that non-Malayalis were heavily investing in real estate now, they pointed out.

Considering all these factors, this was the most appropriate time for non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in the state. Currently, they constituted 40% to 50% of the real estate market, George and Jose said.

Compared to other south Indian states, Kerala’s real estate market growth in the last two-three years was modest at 20% to 30%.The current price of Rs2500 per sq ft was modest compared to Rs4000 in Bangalore, they remarked. “Kochi will be a metro city in the next 10 years,” the builders predicted.

Most real estate developers had a separate division for offering after-sales service like renting out the property and maintaining it, they said.
All the properties on exhibition, including those in Munnar, were government-approved, they stressed.

Nearly 5000 housing units are on offer at the exhibition.Kerala Builders Forum had a grievances cell to mediate and settle any issue between investors and builders, the officials said.

“We do not permit any unethical practices and ensure that investors are not taken for a ride,” they claimed.

Atif_aslam

Hi Happy,

I m fully agree with u that real estate is booming in Kerala. Many Real estate developer offering real estate services, developing new residential/ commercial projects, office space, renting out the property in Kerala.

Recently Sobha Developers launched one of the largest fully integrated townships in Kerala on Saturday. Called Sobha City, the 55-acre township is being built at an investment of Rs 850 crore. The township, covering 3 million sq ft will be built around a 6.5 acre man-made lake and will have 78% residential and 22% commercial areas.

To be completed by May 2011, the price ranges from Rs 2 crore for a villa (spread over 4,040 sq ft) to Rs 67-85 lakh for a three/four bedroom apartment (1,800-3,000 sq ft). While there will be 25 villas, the configuration of the three and four-bedroom apartments would be 423 and 216.

On why Thrissur was chosen over the commercial capital of Kerala, Kochi, for launching the project, P N C Menon, chairman, Sobha Group, said, “With 40% of Thrissur’s economy being run on NRI investments and the remaining on the gold trade, the city was a perfect bet over Kochi, where land rates would be much higher. ”