By: Ravi Sinha
Track2Realty Exclusive: In the beginning of the year 2013 when the property market in Ahmedabad was softening a bit in select pockets, the prophets of doomsday had a free run. Many of them were prophetic to write off the city’s real estate market as simply unaffordable and unsustainable, notwithstanding the fact that the correction in the city real estate prices has been relatively moderate as compared to other cities with similar trends in property market when the sentiments were at peak.
The critics even failed to acknowledge the simple economics of demand and supply that suggested inventory level in Ahmedabad was not as high as in many other metro cities.
No wonder, the expectations of such analysts have definitely crashed since then even though the wishful thoughts of a crash in the real estate market has not happened. On the contrary, the property index of the city is showing northward trend in the second half of this year.
The critics are, in the meantime, at loss of words to explain why the conspiracy theory against Ahmedabad market has fallen flat on their faces. But then the fundamentals of property market are intermixed with the economic activity in the city that is on a high growth trajectory even during the slowdown in other parts of the country.
Facts speak for themselves. The National Housing Bank Index, commonly known as, the NHB Residex clearly indicates a price hike in the real estate market of Ahmedabad. At a time when the other markets are struggling to sustain the prices at least, the growth in the city property market has been by 3.5% in the past six months. There has been more launches than any other neighbouring market and still inventory is not a huge challenge in the city for the seasoned developers.
What is driving Ahmedabad property market is the fact that the city is attracting investments not only from India but from non-resident Indians (NRIs) as well. Moreover, the capital value for the real estate in Ahmedabad in terms of the residential properties is any time affordable than many other tier II cities in the country. The presence of the superior infrastructural facilities and strategic location of residential properties drive investors towards real estate market in Ahmedabad.
The load on infrastructure is also shared by numerous upcoming integrated township projects across the city as well as the suburban areas. All this collectively ensures the continuity in the boom of the property market in Ahmedabad. Healthy economic growth and infrastructural urbanization have contributed to position the city of Ahmedabad as one of the major realty destinations.
Dhaval Ajmera, Director, Ajmera Realty & Infra does not find anything unusual in this growth story of city’s property market. According to him, Ahmedabad is among the country’s fastest-growing cities for years that consists immense real estate potential. The scenario is such that with the rise in population the city is also witnessing a construction boom concurrently. Moreover the city has been showcasing its tremendous industrial growth and has housed work-stations of various giants like Tata Motors’ small-car project.
“The city encompasses many developing and premium areas which entail large number of high-income individuals. Another crucial factor is that the properties are relatively affordable making it a complete viable destination for the city dwellers. The city continues to bring the best pick of domestic and multinational players into the State. With our primary aim being to deliver real value to the Ahmedabad real estate industry, these considerable changes have been the major growth drivers of the property. The growth in the Ahmedabad housing market is expected to endure. Majority of the industry players expect property prices to strengthen up in the coming years. The locations which will foresee demand include Satellite, Vastrapur, New CG Road, SG Highway,” says Ajmera.
…to be continued
