Besant Nagar, one of the premium addresses to own a house in Chennai, has witnessed a rise of 46 per cent in capital values in the last one year, according to the data with Magicbricks. For instance, a 3BHK apartment in the locality measuring 1400-sq-ft area, which was priced at about Rs 1.4 crore in 2013, is now available for approximately Rs 2 crore. Limited supply in the area has made sure that the property prices don’t fall.
“Even with re-development happening in the locality, there are very few new properties that come on sale. If 10 apartments are being re-developed, eight will go to the original owners and only two will be added as new inventory. This has limited the supply in the locality thereby increasing the property prices,” says Ravi Shankar of E2E Solutions, a broker firm active in the area.
Besant Nagar was developed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board way back in the 1970. The apartments built at that time were divided into three types – LIG (Low Income Group), MIG (Middle Income Group) and HIG (High Income Group). In the late 90s and early 2000, re-development of these apartments by private developers started, which is still happening.
Besides the limited supply, the continued interest of high net worth buyers in the locality is another reason for high property prices. Proximity to the popular Elliot’s beach has also played a significant role in making this area aspirational. “The upper-middle and higher income group is attracted to this locality because of greenery, less traffic and the beach,” says Shankar.
“Santome and Thiruvanmiyur are two neighboring localities that also have access to the beach, but those beaches are more congested, while the Elliot’s is comparatively less crowded and clean,” says Muthu P of Lakshmi Realty, a broker firm.
“In Thiruvanmiyur, there are slums close to the beach while the Adyar creek doesn’t give you the beach effect and hence Besant Nagar becomes the only locality that is also close to the city,” says Muthu P.
“Most of the buyers of these expensive properties want a sea-facing apartment and are ready to pay more for it. The buyers include businessmen, top governmental officials and senior professionals,” says Shankar.
Of late, some of the developers have started converting top floors of apartment buildings to pent houses, which are even more expensive than the floors below.
What’s available?
Currently with the capital values ranging from Rs 13,000-16,850 per sq ft, the area falls in the list of the expensive localities of Chennai. A 3BHK unit, also the most supplied BHK configuration, is priced between Rs 2-3 crore with size varying from 1400-2300 sq ft.
A 2BHK apartment having 650-1100 sq ft covered area is priced between Rs 90 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore. Majority of them are re-sale properties, according to the data with Magicbricks.
Source: Times of India Chennai Magic Bricks