By Amrita Martin, CNBC-TV18 

Marine Drive in Kochi is the costliest kilometer and a half in Kerala. NRIs seems to be flocking to it, driving prices up to USD 1-2 million per apartment.

The Price of being posh

A gorgeous sunset view, boat jetties bobbing in the water, the famous Chinese fishing nets and the gentle breeze from Vembanad Lake. All this has made Marine Drive in Kochi one of the costliest piece of land in Kerala. And non-resident Indians are the ones who are shelling out the big bucks for the luxury apartments. Real-estate prices have risen from Rs 2,500 per square feet from three years ago to Rs 11,000 per square feet.

BR Ajith, Chief Executive Architect of Ajith Associates said ,"Kochi has the potential for another 30 years. If a foreigner investor internationally can think that way, there should be some reasons for that. The most important reason is that it is a beautiful location of Kochi, in the midst of beautiful trees, lots of  greenery around and one of the best airports in the country. It means we are well connected and have a beautiful port with a lot of international passenger vessels calling on the port."

More homes in the offing

About 15 or more construction projects are going on. Developers like Prestige, Dewa Projects, EMAAR Group and DLF have pumped in an estimated investment of Rs 1,500 crore into these constructions. Prestige is offering 3 tier triplex and two tier duplex versions of pent houses with a personal swimming pool for a neat sum of Rs 8 crore and above.

According to developers, most of the apartments seem to be out-of-reach for the average Kochiite. Marine Drive certainly seems to changed the dynamics of realty prices in Kerala.