Bhopal

While Indore was one of the hottest tier II cities last year, it's Bhopal -- the state capital of Madhya Pradesh, that's catching the eye of developers and retailers. Bhopal is now becoming the target of property developers, as there is easy availability of large land parcels here, as compared to Indore where national level developers have almost exhausted the available land by announcing large townships.

Notable townships being developed along the E-8 extension in Bhopal's southern outskirts are Aakriti Eco-city -- spread over 40 acres, and Mahendra Green Woods -- where residential values are at Rs 1,140-1,280 per square feet. Residential complexes on Hoshangabad Road are commanding Rs 1,440 per square feet.

 

A significant development on Airport Road -- where land prices have doubled due to the entry of several state level developers -- is Aditya Avenue. This is a row house project by the Dainik Bhaskar group. Adding to the residential development, five malls are under construction, primarily on Hoshangabad Road.

Reliance Fresh and Big Bazaar have already made their foray here. On the IT front, the government has allotted 300 acres near the airport for an IT park and Genpact has taken up 50 acres for an IT park. However, while the city does hold promise investors will have to wait a while before good infrastructure is put in place.

 

Jalandhar

In Punjab, Jalandhar is the buzzword for realtors after prices peaked out in Chandigarh. 

Like most cities in Punjab, a considerable population from Jalandhar has migrated to the US and UK. The real estate story of this town is driven by huge amounts of NRI money and demand. The proposed airport between Ludhiana and Jalandhar is also likely to spur real estate action here.

Currently a number of townships by national level builders like DLF, Sahara, Emaar MGF and Ansal API are coming up along the Jalandhar-Phagwada Road. Close to 20 residential projects are in the pipeline in Jalandhar. Nakodar Road too is seeing hectic activity. Prices in projects here such as Silver Residency and Silver Heights are at Rs 1,900 - 2,200 per sq. feet.

 

Jalandhar is also proving to be a prime catchment for retailers like Reliance, Subhiksha and Spencer's. It is expected that 3.5 million sq. feet of retail development will happen here by 2010 and local brokers expect BPOs to head to Jalandhar soon. In Gurgaon, prices will exhaust and BPOs will move. They need high student ratio and Jalandhar will provide that.

 

But consultants say the realty market in Jalandhar and Amritsar will be lead primarily by NRI demand.

 

Amritsar

It is now moving beyond the 'walled city' and the outskirts, towards GT Road and Ajnala Road. Also, with the Amritsar airport being upgraded to an international one, seven new townships have been planned on the Airport Road.

Ten residential projects have been planned on GT Road or the Amritsar-Jalandhar Road, where apartment prices are Rs 800- 900 per sq. feet. Land prices here rose 200% since the past two years, and more recently, after Delhi based developers announced projects here. A large-scale township on Amritsar bypass where prices are cheaper at Rs 700-800 per square foot is the Global City.

 

Amritsar will also see an influx of malls, with 12 projects with a built up area of 5 million square feet coming up by 2010 in areas such as Lawrence Road and Mall Road. An IT park that has been sanctioned for the city, is also expected to fuel some demand. For the moment though, the pace of growth is yet to pick up speed due to an increase in land conversion cost and development restrictions on townships over 100 acres.

 

Dehradun

It's no longer an 'old' city, concentrated around the clock tower. With its new status as capital of Uttarakhand, new growth centres along the Haridwar bypass, Dharampur and Sahastradhara Road have emerged over the past two years. Residential plot prices in townships such as Whistling Woods and Impressions on Sahastradhara Road command Rs 10,000 - 15,000 per square yard. Fourteen residential complexes including Treasure Valley and Santour City are planned in the south of Dehradun. Of these, Parsvnath's 200-acre township is the largest. The interest of Delhi based developers has already pushed up prices considerably.

 

Prices have increased by 50-70 per cent. Flats in Hill View that sold at Rs 15 lakh last year, now sell at Rs 30 lakh. To ensure better economic development, the state government has planned a 60 acre infotech park on Rajpur Road while Parsvnath developers is constructing Eleganza mall in the same area and a 35 acre IT park on Sahastradhara road.

 

"The factor that is really driving this, is that it is the state capital of Uttarakand and the government is actually working to create the city as a showcase of the state. It is also a good educational centre, so there is a good availability of man power," states Zia.

 

Raipur

Like Dehradun, Raipur too is a new state capital, and the Chahattisgarh government has already planned the development of Naya Raipur to spur economic activity in the city. A theme township with an 18-hole golf course on 159 hectares of land, a five-star hotel and convention centre with a commercial complex on 11 hectares of land; an IT Special Economic Zone on 20 hectares of land and a logistics hub on 55 hectares of land have been planned here.

 

While the Naya Raipur development will take at least five years, some residential activity is taking place in areas of Shankar Nagar where projects such as Banyan Tree are commanding Rs 1,400 -2,000 per sq. feet. Apartment prices at Dhamtari are at Rs 1,300 per square feet.

 

However, Raipur still lacks a strong economic driver as of now.

 

The government is trying to facilitate the setting up of BPO or IT firms by setting up an IT SEZ. It is not left behind on the organised retail front. The 4.5 lakh (450,000) square feet city mall on GE Road is already operational, with Inox as a key tenant. To add to it, Treasure Island -- an 8 lakh (800,000) square feet mall by Indore based EWD developers -- is also coming up close to Naya Raipur.

 

So, investors looking for a potential low entry price into real estate could keep their eyes on these emerging growth cities.