The Dream Makers
Real estate is like a gold mine. At whatever point of time in your life, a piece of land will give you back more than just returns. There is no such investment like the land which has only appreciated with time. The market may become stagnant at some point of time but the value of land will never depreciate. It will never leave you feeling wretched. In times of misery, it will yield gold, probably the only thing that would be able to wipe away a lot hardship.
Kerala, the Evergreen Real Estate Hot Spot
Immensely blessed and nurtured by Mother Nature, Kerala the land of all that is wonderful and beautiful on earth continues to be one of the evergreen real estate hot spots of India. One of the globally renowned tourist destinations located on the southern tip of the Indian peninsula, this tiny state continues to attract real estate investments whether it be for housing, commercial space, resorts or hospitality. The onset of the real estate boom across the country one and half decades ago had propelled up the prices and the scenario in Kerala was nothing different. The global economic meltdown has of course put breaks on this Bull Run. However the real estate industry is back on track and blossoming in full swing. The recession had resulted only in some sort of a cooling down of the industry and a kind of correction. It is heartening that the realty market has been able to gradually switch back to the path of progress.
Why God’s Own Country
The economy of Kerala is hugely dependent on travel and tourism besides transportation, banking and finance, information technology and communication, agriculture and fishing industries. With the fast changing lifestyle of the people due to growth in health and family welfare schemes, Kerala’s real estate is still on a boom. As part of the socio economic development of the state, the people have now started building their houses at quite an early stage by availing loans. This has led to the influx of leading realty developers across the country to build affordable property in the state. The upcoming developmental plans in Kerala real estate has already started transforming the once barren skyline of the state, especially in areas like Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kottayam, Thrissur and Kozhikode, the major urban centres of the state which, has already been dotted with an array of vertical residential and commercial constructions, apart from villas and resorts complexes in the hinterlands. The greater influx of liquid funds and a more liberal policy has made housing finance cheaper and less stringent. As a result, more and more people are coming forward to buy houses on loan increasing the demand for houses in Kerala. Lots of investments and FDIs are also being encouraged by the government in the state’s real estate segment.
With foreign direct investment continuing to flow at a good pace, booming economy real estate business in Kerala and its cities are still going strong. There are some more reasons behind the boom in real estate sector of Kerala. The income levels are rising and attitude of having own home is picking up. Being a state of youth population the approach has also been changed. The youths are thinking of buying and repaying. It was not the same a decade ago; they had approach of first save the money and buy the property. It’s a good business for investors too. Therefore various cities and adjoining areas have become hot cake for them. Real estate business persons have started their works a decade ago in well organized manner. There are firms which deal properties and provide plots, small houses, apartments, pent houses, bungalows, commercial places and agricultural lands as required to customers. Various companies which have name and fame in real estate sector are lining up in several cities of Kerala. Kerala’s real estate boom is to a great extent being sustained by Growth of tourism sector in Kerala, Flow of NRI (Non-Resident Indian) money to this State, Growth of IT and IT related services in Kerala and High human density. After tourism and NRI income, IT is the next major source of income in Kerala.
The Indian scenario
The large scale growth of IT sector and the massive increase in migration of people has aroused the need for better housing and commercial facilities across the major cities of India. This enormous demand has stimulated real estate builders to conceive more and more building projects across all realty sectors, be it residential, commercial or retail. A host of private and public sector players have become active in the real estate business, realizing its growing potential. The consequent exponential growth in property rates is obvious not only in metro cities but also in tier-II and tier-III cities. According to real estate analysts, housing sector is bound to grow manifold in the coming years. The demand for flats, apartments, villas, houses, etc. can never really die down in the wake of future developments especially in the industrial and infrastructure projects expected in India. It may be noted that property developers now prefer to invest higher amounts in residential spaces than commercial and retail as rental values of latter has been falling since the recession. Retail rents have dropped as much as housing rents have grown which is nearly 30 percent, according to surveys. All indications are that the boom in property sector, specifically housing is here to stay for a long period of time. The building up of independent houses, duplexes, multi-storied apartments, villas and the upcoming bed and breakfast facilities is going to bloom further. Residential sector is an absolutely safe bet for investments in short term as well as long term, according to analysts.