Greater Noida sees a major price spiral

Residential plotted developments up 80-120%, group housing projects 30-40%.

Over the last 12 months, residential plotted developments in Greater Noida have appreciated by 80-120 per cent and the price hike in group housing projects over the last eight months is approximately 30-40 per cent.

For instance, take the case of Omaxe Construction Ltd's 80-acre NRI City, where prices of houses have appreciated five times in the last two years.

Omaxe's Chairman and Managing Director, Rohtas Goel, said that in this time period prices have shot up from Rs 7,000 per square yard to Rs 32,000 per square yard.

A staunch believer in planning cities, the Greater Noida Industrial Develoment Authority (GNIDA) releases plots under various schemes only from time to time.

Sanjay Verma, joint managing director, Cushman&Wakefield, pointed out that that the circle rates for plotted development is approximately Rs 7,000 per square metre, while the market value is in the range of Rs 20,000-25,000 per square metre.

The premium of Rs 13,000 to 18,000 attracts huge response from the investors and end-users.

"With overheated market conditions in the other active suburbs vis-à-vis Gurgaon and Noida, investors and end-users are on the look-out for newer options andlower price-points to invest or acquire land banks," said Verma.

Even though Gurgaon's connectivity with the capital city is still poor, DLF Phase I and Phase II are still able to command a market rate of Rs 60,000 to Rs. 70,000 per square metre, almost thrice the rates prevailing in Greater Noida.

Current market prices in Sector 34, 39 and 40 in Noida are approimately Rs. 50,000 to Rs.60,000 per square metre, 2.5 times the rates in Greater Noida.

However, Greater Noida is growing at a fast phase. According to Cushman&Wakefield, market rates of residential plots were at Rs 9,000-10,000 per square metre in Feburary 2005, Rs 14,000-15,000 per square metre in April 2005 and Rs 20,000-25,000 in January 2006.

The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority is also actively promoting the suburb to IT companies, which will only accelerate this suburb's growth rate.

For instance, according to market buzz, Wipro, eight to ten months agohad purchased 42 acres from GNIDA at a concessional rate of approximately Rs 800 per square metre.

Industry sources say the market value of this land today would be roughly Rs 3,000 per square metre. Real estate developers such as Unitech, Uppals and Ansals have also purchased approximately 75 acres each to develop IT Parks.

Retail projects in Greater Noida are also pouring in money. Omaxe's Connaught Place, over one million square feet and with 70 per cent of it leased out, is presently fetching Rs 175 per square foot as rental.

Reliance has taken up space here to open a hypermarket. Ansal Plaza, a two lakh square feet mall expected to roll out soon, is currently going for Rs 100-110 per sq ft.