 "Chennai leads in the search for properties above Rs 1 crore: study")
Chennai was followed by Delhi-NCR and Bangalore in the volume of online search for premium properties.
The study was based on the number of visits and searches that landed on Sulekha.com Property (property.sulekha.com), Sulekha.com’s dedicated site for all Property needs, through 2011 and 2012. The study also takes into consideration trends in premium property listings on Sulekha.com in the last two years.
The analysis only covered properties priced between Rs 1 crore and Rs 15 crore across the eight cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad. It included various types of premium properties: apartments/flats, independent floors, row houses, individual houses, plots, villas and farmlands.
The study indicated that the premium property market is on the upswing across all eight cities. When compared to 2011, there has been a 64% increase in 2012 in the number of searches on Sulekha.com for properties between Rs 4-6 crore.
For the two consecutive years, Chennai has topped the search for premium properties between Rs 1 crore and Rs 6 crore. In 2011, Delhi was the second highest, and in 2012, it was Bangalore followed by Hyderabad, which has recorded the highest percentage increase in the number of people looking for properties in the range of Rs. 1-6 crore.
Among premium properties, ‘villas’ were most searched for in 2011 (58% of the premium property related searches), while in 2012 ‘plots’ were most sought after (55%).
Since 2011, the search for all types of premium properties, with the exception of row houses and villas, has significantly increased.
Places that figured in search for properties in the range of Rs 1-3 crore are: Neelankarai and Abhiramapuram in Chennai; HSR layout and Shanti Nagar in Bangalore; Sainikpuri and Attapur in Hyderabad; Vile Parle East and Bandra West in Mumbai; Punjabi Bagh East in Delhi-NCR; Kothrud and Baner Road in Pune; Ambli and Odhav in Ahmedabad; and EM Bypass and Malda in Kolkata.
In the Rs 4-6 crore range were Boat Club Road in Chennai; Vijaya Bank Colony in Bangalore; Domalguda in Hyderabad; Bandra West and Nalasopara East in Mumbai; Som Vihar in Delhi-NCR; Model Colony and Aundh in Pune; Naranpura and Juhapura in Ahmedabad; and Ballygunge in Kolkata.
Satya Prabhakar, CEO of Sulekha.com commented that despite the pressures of a recessionary environment, the luxury housing market in our country has been growing significantly.
With the HNI (High Net Worth Individuals) segment growing steadily in India, increase in NRI investments in property here, and change in the demographics of the country, the luxury housing market is poised for greater growth in the next 5 years.
It may be noted, Sulekha.com recently launched ‘Pantheon’, an exclusive showcase for high-end luxury homes valued between Rs 1-25 crore in India.