Thirty percent rent increases in specific parts of Bengaluru have caused the city’s rental inflation to exceed that of Singapore.
Over the last few months, rent in Bengaluru has risen by over 20% to 30% due to several companies abandoning work-from-home policies, which has caused the “floating” employee population to return to their offices from their hometowns. As a result, there are right now far too many renters vying for a limited number of properties. Additionally, there have been cases where over four potential tenants have competed for the same property. Due to this, the IT city’s rental inflation has reached nearly 24%, making it competitive with other major cities like Singapore.
Tenants in a city bereft of rental properties have been finding it difficult to comply with landlords’ constantly shifting demands; some have even gone so far as to look up potential tenants’ LinkedIn profiles. Additionally, there have been cases where real estate agents have given tenants have even jokingly said that it is harder to pass a “rental” interview than it is to pass a job interview.
India’s average rental inflation rate now exceeds that of Singapore and Dubai. In Singapore, the average annual rental inflation has been approximately 29%, while in Dubai, it has been 20%. According to a NoBroker study, certain areas of large cities, like Bengaluru, are seeing exponential rent increases of 30% and higher.
According to a report by Anarock Group, residential rent in India’s IT hub has increased by as much as 31%. “Rents will rekindle in the January to March 2024 rental market as Indians typically relocate in search of better job opportunities and amid increased hiring in the new fiscal year,” the report stated.
The opening of Bengaluru offices has significantly increased demand for real estate near IT parks and office clusters. Additionally, there is a rise in demand for homes along these connectors as the new metro corridor comes online.
Properties near metro stations in the IT city have seen a 15-18% increase in rent due to increased demand.
“Over the past year, Bengaluru has seen a sharp increase in housing rentals. According to Akhil Gupta, co-founder and chief executive and technology officer of NoBroker, “the average rent inflation to the IT capital has been 24%, with rent inflation reaching 30% in certain parts of the city.
A further trend is an increase in demand for rentals in areas that are accessible by metro but are not always close to office buildings.
The mandate requiring employees to return to their workplaces has resulted in a notable departure of individuals, thereby augmenting the need for residential real estate. The need to purchase a home and the pandemic’s effects on supply and demand have raised demand for residential properties. Rents and prices have increased as a result, according to Gupta.
He also mentioned how Mumbai’s metro connectivity has led to rental prices that are significantly higher than those of most other cities. It would be unfair to compare Bengaluru to Mumbai or Delhi because of how better connected these cities’ metro areas are.
Metro connectivity is highly beneficial, as the IT city is known for having a lot of traffic. According to our annual report, Bangalore has experienced the highest rate of rent inflation thus far this year.
According to him, there has been a 7-10% increase in rental inflation in the areas close to the metro line.
One notable connection is the Metro corridor, which runs from the western city of Kengeri to the eastern IT corridor of Whitefield.
According to Kiran Kumar, vice president of Hanu Reddy Realty in Bengaluru, rentals in East and North Bengaluru have increased dramatically since the Metro opened for business. Desirable areas like Whitefield, Koramangala, and Indiranagar along the purple line have seen a 20% increase in rental prices.
Previously renting for Rs 30,000 per month, a 2BHK next to the Indiranagar Metro corridor now fetches Rs 45,000. Rent for a 5BHK independent bungalow is Rs 3 lakh per month. Last year, the rent was approximately Rs 1.9 lakh per month. Compared to approximately 70,000 per month last year, a 3BHK in a gated community in the same area now commands rents between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh per month. A 1-BHK apartment without a parking lot for Rs 10,000 a month is now renting for Rs 22,000.
Rental prices have increased in areas along the metro corridor because of better metro connectivity between the east and the north. Because there are fewer properties than there is demand for them, people are willing to pay higher rent for properties near the Metro, according to him.
In Whitefield (located close to the IT corridor) as well, a 3BHK is going for Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000 per month, and a 3 BHK villa that was going for around Rs 80,000 before the metro became operational today commands a rent of around Rs 1.5 to almost 2 lakh, he told HT Digital.
Are rent negotiations tough for tenants?
Looking at the rental market, it is still more in demand than it is in supply. The goal of tenants in gated communities is to obtain lovely residences. Therefore, even at high rentals, there are still a lot of takers in gated communities. There is hardly any time for negotiations because deals are closing so quickly. Consequently, Gupta said, “There is always another tenant waiting, willing to pay higher, even though tenants may want to negotiate.”
Has the cycle of rental deal closure gotten longer or shorter?
The inventory shortage has resulted in a significantly shorter transaction timeline. Deals have closed in as little as one day on occasion. Tenants are inspecting the property before the weekend even arrives, Gupta says.
New draft notification
Prospective tenants should be aware that the city’s governing body for civic and infrastructure, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palik (BBMP), is getting ready to introduce a value-based property tax on April 1. Property owners may pay twice as much in taxes on rental properties under the new system as on owner-occupied properties. It could put more pressure on tenants’ high rents because of the mismatch between supply and demand.