Old buildings make way for luxe bungalows, villas in Chennai city. Developers look for location, size of dwelling unit, internal layout, amenities while choosing a property.
While scores of people are moving away from the city in search of houses costing up to ₹1 crore, the demand for luxury real estate in prime locations of the city is witnessing a spike.
Property consultants and developers point out that first-time home buyers, especially from affluent sections, are flocking to apartment complexes that offer amenities, location advantage, ease of maintenance and aesthetic designs.
“The premium to luxury housing demand in Chennai is seeing an upswing. Residential projects located in citycentric locations such as Nungambakkam, Chetpet, Kilpauk, Alwarpet, RA Puram, Adyar and Besant Nagar are preferred localities among home buyers in this asset class. Developers’ interest areas are location, size of dwelling unit, internal layout, amenities and specifications that appeal to discerning home buyers,” said Sanjay Chugh, city head and senior vice president of ANAROCK Property Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
According to data provided by property consultant Knight Frank India, there has been a 50% increase in houses priced at ₹ 3 crore and above.
In Q1 of 2022, a total of 584 houses were sold in the above ₹1 crore housing segment and out of this, 10% would be properties priced above₹3 crore. In Q1 of 2023, 876 houses were sold in ₹1 crore-plus price bracket and 15% of them were in the luxury segment (₹18,000 sqft upwards),” said Srinivas Anikipatti, senior director, Tamil Nadu & Kerala, at Knight Frank India.
After the pandemic, many affluent families living in bungalows in prime localities decided to monetise their assets by redeveloping them or selling it to realtors.
“Many prime locations in the city were unlocked due to a couple of reasons. The high-income group that had disposable income at hand during the pandemic decided to invest in luxury homes for their children. Some joint families decided to monetise their assets worth ₹100 to ₹200 crore by selling it to developers,” said Srinivas.
P Kruthivas, Pushkar Properties and secretary of CREDAI Chennai, said that earlier premium localities were located in Adyar, Besant Nagar, T Nagar, Poes Garden etc. “Now, Kodambakkam, K K Nagar, West Mambalam and Ashok Nagar have come into this segment. The maximum land parcel available is two grounds to six grounds and people prefer quality over volume. As the cost is high, the final product is also expensive,” he said.
A majority of the properties that have come for redevelopment are those owned by old people whose children live abroad. “They have a sentimental value attached to the house, so they prefer redeveloping it instead of selling it,” he said.
Rohit Ravi, MD, Appaswamy Real Estates, said the clientele for luxury housing segment include children of industrialists, actors, small and medium business owners. “This segment wants houses closer to hotels, schools and at prime locations. Besides, these luxury apartments have more amenities and maintenance. For aged people, security is a concern, and hence luxury apartments score over bungalows,” he added.
Raj Kumar Reddy, managing director, Vishranti, said there is a dearth for affordable land and labour. “The younger generation is moving out of independent houses and getting into luxury complexes that offer all amenities. For them, size and price do not matter. Such people prefer are preferring four-to-five-bedroom apartments spread over 2,500 to 5,000 sqfeet,” he added
Source TOI