Bangalore is costliest Indian city to live in.

Glitzy tech capital Bangalore just earned a new sobriquet, the costliest Indian city. An analysis of the Reserve Bank of India’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that Bangalore is a couple of notches higher than the all-India cost-of-living average, with financial capital Mumbai just a shade behind.

The CPI is a measure of a standard basket of items, including food, clothing and transport, across cities. In the price race, Delhi is comfortably placed very low in the table, deriving its cushion from the subsidies galore it receives from the Centre. Take, for instance, LPG cylinders, which is a must-have in middle-class families.

According to Bharat Petroleum’s latest figures, Bangalore currently pays Rs 415 for a 14.5-kg refill, Kolkata Rs 405, Mumbai Rs 402 (expected to go up after budget), Delhi Rs 399 and Chennai Rs 393.50. Bangalore’s CPI peaks in the national chart at a whopping 200, followed closely by Mumbai at 199, Kolkata 184 and Delhi a distant 181. The national CPI average is 198.

For homemakers like Koramangala resident Aditi Rao, life in Bangalore is becoming tougher with each passing day. “Frequent hikes in the prices of basic items put our home budget out of sync every month,” said Rao, 34.

Budget analyst Ravi Duggal, who has lived in Mumbai and Delhi, observed that the high cost of living in Bangalore has come about as a result of the IT industry. He said there were different reasons for differential living costs among cities, including the aspiration of people. Talking of India’s two leading cities, he said, “Where education is concerned, for instance, Delhi has more public education facilities than Mumbai.”

What makes Mumbai equally expensive? “There are many factors, the chief being high rentals. Over 40% of the salary of an average Mumbaikar goes into paying rent,” pointed out economist Vibhuti Patel of SNDT University.

Koramangala In Bangalore Turns Better Home Destination

Koramangala, lying in the South eastern parts of Bangalore, is expected to offer higher returns to the investors. It has become one of the most sought after residential areas in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR).
Koramangala in Bangalore has recently become a hot home destination.

Koramangala in Bangalore has recently become a hot home -destination.

Guaranteeing higher returns to the investors, Koramangala has become one of the hotter real estate destinations in India. The large number of upcoming ultra-luxury residential projects, commercial malls and posh villas show how fast the area develops and becomes a better home- destination.

While speaking to Shweta Rao of Economic Times, Mr. Gaurav Pandey, Vice-President of PropEquity Research & Consulting, told that “having close proximity to many established commercial hubs in the Central, East and Southern regions of Bangalore, Koramangala has evolved as a premium residential market.” Continue reading

How Koramangala Became a Hot Real Estate Destination in Bangalore

The area spread over 1,800 acres in eight blocks, was once petrified by mosquito menace and mangroves. Once upon a time localities used to call Koramangala ‘Sollemangala’ (Solle means mosquitoes in Kannada). It was a village and was considered not a great place to live for a Bangalorean in the 80s and 90s.

Today, it is one of the hottest real estate destinations in India’s Silicon Valley. “I would kill to get a place in Koramangala,” said MR Jagannathan jokingly. The 60-year-old retired employee stays very close to Koramangala. “It used to be in the outskirts of the city when I could afford it. Now, unfortunately I cannot buy a place there.” This is just a glimpse of how much the landscape and aspiration for Koramangala has changed over the years.

“You won’t believe it. I once had an offer to buy a plot in Koramangala for a few lakhs in the 90s. That time if I would have stretched a bit I could have actually owned something in Koramangala, but it was not so good then. This is one decision I regret to have made,” added Mr Jagannathan.

The Rahejas, real estate developers, are often credited with changing the landscape of Koramangala when they come up with mixed-use project called Raheja Arcade. Many companies those days shifted from other parts of Bangalore to Raheja Arcade. Then Forum Mall, which further increased the value of the locality. In fact Forum is one of the earliest malls in the country, which was constructed to meet international standards. Even to this day, it is one of most successful malls in the country.

At present, the rentals for mid-segment residential properties are expected to grow by 5-10 per cent in the Koramangala locality over the next few months. “This is due to good social as well as physical infrastructure, good connectivity to various business districts and availability of premium developments,” said Naveen Nadwani, director South India, for Cushman & Wakefield, a real estate consulting firm.

“Rentals for residential properties in the high-end segment are expected to remain stable while mid-segment are expected to witness further increases on account of persistent demand. While in the commercial office market space as well as in the retail segment, rentals may remain stable in the short to medium term,” added Mr Nadwani

While the rate for land parcels range between Rs 13,000-15,000 per square feet, not much of commercial space is available for sale. “At present, no major land parcels suitable for developers are available in Koramangala. Only a few scattered small plots ranging up to a size of 3,500 sq ft owned by individuals are available,” added Mr Nadwani. The residents of Koramangala are buying whatever is available. Recently, a well-known local businessman bought two adjacent plots in the vicinity. 

 

Bengaluru has Impact Of IT, ITES on Real Estate.

Advantages like available skilled workforce, a high quality of living and better career prospects are at Bengaluru but factors like the cost of real estate and ready access to international destinations also matters a lot.

Services such as call centers, transcription, data processing, online education, etc are included in ITES which has made a huge impact on international workflow into India, mainly because of low communication costs and the financial sense behind outsourcing non-core activities. It is an obvious advantage for any modern city to have a significant presence of this industry, which creates white-collar, high-profile jobs and has remarkable effects on its real estate market.

Commercial developments in the city have been done by the private sector and the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which controls the growth process of the city.

The city’s commercial market has three spatial limits – central business district (CBD), suburban and peripheral. Bengaluru has no true concept of a CBD which resulted in business growth from MG Road to other main roads such as Residency Road, Richmond Road and Brigade Road, Infantry Road and Cunningham Road.

Some of the prominent streets in prime off-CBD areas in Bengaluru are Commercial Street, Infantry Road, Cunningham Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road, Millers Road, St Mark’s Road, Vittal Mallya Road and Lavelle Road. The advantages they offer are reduced congestion, the availability of space and proximity to the City Centre.

Bengaluru suburbs are classified as areas near to Airport Road, Koramangala, Indira Nagar and Jaya Nagar. The peripheral areas consist of Bellary Road, Whitefield and Bannerghatta Road.