Arvind Shetty, a techie who lives close to Kanakapura Road in South Bengaluru, travels to his office in JP Nagar three days a week.
"Though my place is about 20 km from my office, I still chose to rent an apartment close to Kanakapura Road due to its affordable real estate prices," said Shetty who currently pays Rs 25,000 monthly for a 2 BHK.
While North Bengaluru remains one of the city’s booming real estate micro markets, several developers are eyeing the potential that Kanakapura Road has, given that its current affordability makes it one of the top choices of homebuyers.
Gradual growth
According to data from real estate consultancy Knight Frank, in the first half of calendar 2023, Kanakapura Road saw residential properties appreciate 3 percent, on a par with the southern IT corridor of Electronic City.
But local realtors say that over the last year, prices in the area have gone up by at least 10 percent. "A lot of commercial activities have already started in the area with major developers looking to expand their footprint in the area," said Kiran Kumar, vice president of Hanu Reddy Realty.
Currently, plots are selling for Rs 10,000 per square foot in the locality. Apartment prices, according to Sunil Singh, director, Realty Corp, have risen to Rs 7,000 to 9,500 per sq ft, from around Rs 5,000 per sq ft a year earlier. In comparison, apartments in North Bengaluru's Hebbal range between Rs 13,000 and Rs 16,000 per sq ft and in East Bengaluru's Whitefield, are upwards of Rs 14,000 per sq ft.
Realtors say Kanakapura Road is already a bustling real estate hub in South Bengaluru. "Kanakapura Road has functioned as an extension of Jayanagar and JP Nagar, exhibiting a strong demand for villas and plots in the neighbourhood. A prime illustration of this is our flagship project, Concorde Napa Valley," said Anil RG, managing director of Bengaluru-based real estate firm Concorde.
Villas in the project at launch in 2014 cost Rs 80 lakh each a villa in 2014, and are now being resold at Rs 2 crore and above.
"We have a few launches planned in the next financial year in this area and the vicinity including a premium group housing development. In line with the overall demand and price momentum in the city, we expect prices to strengthen in the residential space on Kanakapura Road as well. Already, prices have appreciated decently in housing societies such as Prestige Falcon City and Prestige Primrose Hills on Kanakapura Road," said Praveer Shrivastava, senior vice president, residential, at city-based real estate company Prestige Group.
Area Watch
Why Kanakapura?
According to local brokers, Kanakapura Road being relatively cheaper than some other parts makes it attractive for investments.
"The return on investment for commercial property today is about 5 percent while for residential properties it sis about 2.5 percent. However, if a person invests in a property today, over the next five years the return on investment can be as much as 25-30 percent," Kumar said.
However, experts say, most investments in the area are happening in the form of second homes.
Several infrastructure projects, including making the access to Kanakapura Road a four-lane highway, have been a major boost. Additionally, NICE Road which connects the area to the southern IT Hub of Electronic City and Mysuru Road which connects all the way from Ramanagaram to Mysuru have also been significant incentives for investments.
Prices to rise, and challenges
Brokers in the area estimate that at the rate at which the real estate market in Kanakapura Road is growing, the prices could rise by at least 15-20 percent.
"While the real estate booms, Kanakapura Road has its challenges—the major one being it being farther away and disconnected from the city. So a daily commute to the city remains a challenge for homebuyers," Kumar pointed out.
On October 24, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar proposed the integration of Kanakapura with Bengaluru. This led to a brief surge in queries, with investors and homebuyers anticipating a major boom in prices.
However, despite the rise. In enquiries, real estate brokers say that major investments will only start when the area is actually integrated with Bengaluru.
"Like how the movie Sholay had boosted real estate demand in Ramanagara (where it was filmed), which tapered soon thereafter, the demand will drop unless the implementation begins," Singh added.
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