Mumbai top investment destinations among UAE based Indians

As many as 35% expats vote for city as top property destination despite high realty prices

Despite high property prices, India's commercial capital Mumbai has once again emerged as the most popular and attractive property investment hotspot among the UAE-based Indian expats.

As many as 35 per cent UAE-based Indian expats voted for the city as their favourite property destination in India, in a recently conducted survey.

In the report, published by Sumansa Exhibitions, who also organise the Indian Property Show to be held in Dubai in December. Bangalore grabbed the 2nd spot with 24.13 per cent votes going for it as the most favorite city for NRI property investments.

Bangalore catches the fancy of NRI investors due to its multi-directional growth in recent years plus potential of giving significant return on investment.

"The real estate in India continues to attract investors as the sector presents huge investment opportunities for individuals. In earlier times, most of the people purchased property for their own use but now it has also became an investment option for life time," said Sunil Jaiswal, President, Sumansa Exhibitions.

Known for its up-market locations and nodes of premium residential colonies, Mumbai stands aloft as one of the most preferred destinations for habitation in India.

"However, owing to the scarcity of fresh land available for construction, Navi Mumbai and other planned townships have effectively evolved as an alternative to Mumbai city," Jaiswal said.

"Bangalore is one of the upcoming residential and commercial market in India. It has seen multi-directional growth in recent years. Those planning to invest in Bangalore, this might be the perfect time," Jaiswal said.

Bangalore being a hub of information technology has been attracting real estate investors over the years, he said.

About 22,300 NRIs across UAE participated in the survey which was conducted to understand the reason of buying property in India, preferred cities for investments, type of property, time frame, budget and finances planned.

Indian cities are also in the top 25 real estate destinations in the Asia Pacific region for real estate investment destinations.

Mumbai and Bangalore are on the 20th and 23rd positions respectively, in the list of investment destinations covered by the 'Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2014', published jointly by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers.