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Photo: R. Shivaji Rao

Promising time: It is time for prospective buyers to make their choice.

On the one hand Information Technology hubs are concentrating on ECR-OMR belt, along with it is emerging multiplexes and huge residential blocks of over 500 apartments.

On the other hand, GST road, Sriperumbudur, Padappai, Urgagadum, North Chennai – new locations for apartments and office complexes are also fast developing.

Are they equipped with basic infrastructural needs? Which place to choose? What are the price slabs? Living Spaces Property Fair 2008 seeks to answer many queries. Cosponsored by Nippon Paint and presented by LIC Housing Finance Limited the fair will run between March 7 and 10.

All leading builders and other players in the market will have stalls and teams of spokesmen to interact with buyers from within Tamil Nadu and outside.

Care Communications is the event manager and Radio One the radio partner.

Is the middle income group able to get within the ambit of housing?

Why not, says Chitty Babu, MD, Akshay Homes. Akshay Homes has 11 completed projects in OMR belt with a mega project of 520 apartments coming up on GST Road aimed to cater to the middle income segment.

“It is a perfect setting with parallel EMU running right up to Vandalur. You step into the six-lane road either from the airport or Tirisoolam station. The budget range will be between Rs.30 and Rs. 50 lakhs for the middle income segment with a minimum carpet area of 800 sq. ft.”

Unless and until land value came down even marginally it would be difficult to see a change in the scenario, he said.

“Hence we are going in for mega projects, like the one of 530 apartments slated to come up at Oorapakkam which will go on stream soon,” he said. In his view, such mega projects were the only means to bring affordable housing to the doorstep of the MIG. Another attraction to such projects are the indoor facilities – swimming pool, gym, greenery, club house and play area - which give them the contours of a township.

To Mr. Suresh, MD of Arun Excello Infrastructure, there remained a large, untapped market of the middle income segment though most of the projects had to be located in the suburbs. “There is urgent need for the builders to draw up proposals targeting the group, which constitute 70 per cent of the buyers now. We have to look at a budget range of Rs. 20-27 lakh for the MIG to even think of owning a flat.” With unrealistic land prices builders were compelled to go 5 km beyond Tambaram. Consequently in areas such as Nalambur the quoted price was around Rs. 3500 per sq. ft, Rs. 3000 in Tondiarpet and Rs. 2900 in Porur, he said. With home loan interest at 11 per cent, the budget inevitably would touch the borderline of Rs. 40 lakhs.

“One has to price it at Rs. 2200 for the MIG to afford a dignified two bed room flat at present. Commuting from the outskirts to the city and back is no longer a trying exercise, with transport facilities in place.” However he observed that there had been a lull in land appreciation which could revitalise bookings in the near future. Also tax incentive given to the builders a few years ago for pegging the price down had been withdrawn. “In the given situation, builders with little control over land price and cost of materials too want to maximise profit,” he said.

Mr. Sandeep Mehta of Jain Housing looked forward to a wide range of properties being displayed at the fair. In view of the huge shortage of housing, promoters are moving deeper into the outskirts. "This geographical extension (of housing) will continue. Now the epicentre has moved away from Porur, Mogalivakkam to Maraimalai Nagar and Vandalur. More than 100 promoters have projects up to 10 crore square feet, of which 70 per cent falls in the affordable range. It will be priced at Rs. 20 -25 lakh range at Rs. 2000 per sq. ft." In tier 1 and tier 2 cities, the shift towards integrated townships would continue, he said. Big projects would outgrow smaller ones and would be inevitably located in the deep suburbs because water could be tapped at 8 feet in Vandalur. The shift would be towards areas with natural resources, he said.

Vijayshanti Builders will have six stalls clubbed together with the focus on use of open space. Forty per cent of the open space will be marked for greenery and other facilities. It has five huge projects in the Rs. 20-30 lakh range of about 2000 plus flats.

Are the bookings enthusiastic? "We sold about 400 flats in a day" said Suresh Jain.

They also have eight projects targeting the premium segment in prime city areas. With FDI flows into the real estate and engineering sector of late, foreign firms are also keen on tie-ups and joint ventures are already in place in Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and other cities. "It will come into Chennai too, soon", he said.

“A welcome feature of T The fair will attract is the entry fee which confirms that only serious visitors and those who are keen about purchase will come. It will contribute to good conversion rate.” said V.A. Ramash of Vishranthi Sabari. It Vishranthi has four high-end projects in Rs. 50 lakh range, one of which is in Siruseri targeting IT professionals. It will have 308 apartments with 1.5 acres reserved for recreational facilities. “Buyers in Chennai are price sensitive and we are careful not to pass on incidental cost of materials to the buyer. We too are thinking on affordable range and our future projects will cater to young, middle-aged professionals.” At present the supply in commercial space was more than demand though residential projects at right price did attract bookings, he said. Foreign tie-ups were likely in Chennai too as the push was towards creating satellite towns, he said.

The LIC Housing Limited has kept its momentum in business during the third quarter ended December 2007, registering a growth of 49 per cent in disbursements. The company disbursed Rs. 1652 crores of loans during the period against Rs. 1108 crores in the same period the previous year. The net profit for the quarter was Rs. 106.02 crores compared to Rs.76.61 crores in the corresponding period last year, showing a growth of 38 per cent.

In all the fourth edition of The Hindu Property Plus property fair holds a promising time for the prospective buyer and seller.

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