The festive season of August to October sees maximum real estate activity in India. Kerala sets the trend with Onam and Diwali is usually the peak across the North and the West. In a year of slowing down of property markets across the country largely due to rising interest rates and escalating values, the market was watching the Kerala Onam season with bated breath to see if the festive season would actually bring cheer to the real estate industry as well.
Take the case of . A port town with huge unmet real estate requirement, demand exceeds availability at the prime locations. As in all Indian cities, Kochi too is witnessing suburban development - towards Kakkanad in the eastern end of the city. Capital values for residential apartments have shown a rise of about Rs 300/ sq ft over the last couple of months.
Plot values currently hover at about Rs 7100/Sq.Yard (Source: MagicBricks). However, even more significant than the marginal rise in values is the fact that a very large number of transactions took place during the festive period.
Kochi broker George revealed that, "Kakkanad, a hilly village is fast becoming a new city hub, most-sought-after location in Kochi... The Onam festival being a period of considered auspicious by the people, saw a large number of transactions". This has led developers and brokers to expect that people are looking forward to invest in real estate big time. Another Kochi broker, Srinivasan analyses the trend further. "Similar to Diwali, Onam also brings in special offers and schemes, like discounts and easy home loans for the buyers". The special schemes lure the customers to invest in the property and also "since the period is considered propitious, people generally prefer to buy during this period".
The commercial as well as residential properties in Kochi are witnessing immense real estate activity. There are two ways of deciding on your real estate purchases in Kochi - the yield on your investment or the affordability of premium property. The yield is slightly higher in the commercial sector and in the residential sector, waterfront properties sell well and command premium prices. The Onam cheer is clearly being extended in Kochi real estate - the property market continues its northward march.
