To own a house is a matter of pride. With the spiralling rise in the price of land, building material, and cost of construction, people belonging to middle and upper middle income groups face the brunt of the escalation. While the city limits are witnessing vertical expansion with mushroom growth of apartments, builders are promoting affordable individual houses on the peripheries of the city. Given the heavy investment required for purchasing a plot or apartment within the city, many people are opting for ready-built individual houses on the outskirts. “An apartment is beyond our means and we have opted for a small house on the outskirts of the city,” says Mohan, an employee of Commercial Taxes Department who purchased a house near Vayalur a couple of years ago.
Allithurai near Vayalur, Valadi near Anbil, Tiruvasi near Number One Toll Gate, Viyazhanmedu near Puliyur are some of the important villages which have been witnessing brisk construction activity of individual houses. A large extent of agricultural land in these areas have been converted into residential areas in recent years.
There is a good demand for ready-built affordable houses, say builders. State government employees and middle and upper middle income groups mostly opt for such houses.
A. Duraisamy, proprietor of Annai Builders, says he had constructed about 200 individual houses over the past 10 years at Allithurai, catering to the requirement and most importantly budget of the customers.
Some builders offer tailor-made housing plans to suit the tastes of the consumers.
S. Sarathkumar, another builder, says he could complete projects quickly in consultation with the customer. The builders’ investment on individual houses was fairly less when compared to apartment. In one of his projects at Annai Rajam Gardens, he purchased one acre of land about a couple of years ago and had sold out about 23 houses.
S. Subramania Sarma, a retired employee, says he finds the city outskirts largely free from pollution. Further, he enjoys the liberty to expand or alter the house.
