India’s next wave of mega airports is setting off a real estate gold rush. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi slated to inaugurate the Noida International Airport at Jewar on October 30 and the Navi Mumbai International Airport in Maharashtra set to start operations on October 8, land markets around both projects are witnessing unprecedented speculative activity.
Adding to the momentum, the Tamil Nadu government has cleared the decks for a new airport in Hosur, near Bengaluru, a decision that has started sparking interest from investors and developers in South India. Brokers say the move could open up Hosur as an alternative gateway for Bengaluru, by creating a fresh real estate hotspot on the city’s periphery.
In Noida, the Yamuna Expressway has transformed from a peripheral stretch into the National Captial Region's (NCR’s) most dynamic property corridor. According to data from real estate consultant InvestoXpert, in the Yamuna Expressway region, apartment prices rose 158 percent between 2020 and 2025—from Rs 3,950 to Rs 10,200 per sq ft, while plot values skyrocketed 536 percent, from Rs 1,650 to Rs 10,500 per sq ft during the same period.
Micro-markets, such as Greater Noida sectors Chi-3, Chi 4, Sector 27, Chi Phi, and Sector 22D, have seen steep jumps, with land in Chi 3 appreciating more than ten-fold.
A similar frenzy is unfolding in Navi Mumbai. With the international airport there expected to handle 60 million passengers annually, land prices in Panvel, Ulwe, and Dronagiri has seen sharp spikes.
Developers and brokers report 200–300 percent appreciation in select pockets over the past five years, with speculators rushing to corner plots near upcoming logistics hubs, commercial zones, and new metro corridors.
Real estate boom
Vishal Raheja, Founder & Managing Director, InvestoXpert Advisors, said that the Yamuna Expressway has evolved from a peripheral stretch to one of the most dynamic real estate corridors in the NCR.
“With plot prices already multiplying five-fold and apartment prices crossing the Rs 10,000 per sq ft mark, the Yamuna Expressway is expected to sustain strong double-digit growth in the years ahead. The opening of Noida Airport will mark a watershed moment, ushering the corridor into its next phase of development,” he said.
Pratap Singh Ahlawat, Founder & CEO, Pranshi Infra, a Noida-based real estate consultancy firm, said that as the airport develops, industrial units and ancillary facilities will emerge and create opportunities for developers. This will attract investment from the hospitality, education, and manufacturing sectors.
“We are seeing a significant spike in queries for properties near the airport. This clearly reflects growing investor and end-user confidence in the region. People know that once the airport is operational, commercial and residential demand will explode. They don’t want to miss the next Gurgaon moment,” he said.
Where investors see Jewar as the next Gurugram, Navi Mumbai is already being touted as the new Bandra-Kurla Complex.
Over the past five years, land prices in Navi Mumbai, as well as in the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA), have increased by more than 50 percent, and prices are increasing by the week, according to one land aggregator.
"We are seeing a lot of transactions by investors as the inauguration of the airport is approaching. Land owners are selling for a higher price this week than the last. However, we are not seeing too much activity from the developers yet. Most of the purchases are by wealthy individuals, as well as by some government officers," the land aggregator said. He added that land prices are currently trading around Rs 4 crore to Rs 6 crore per acre at NAINA, depending on the location.
A key stumbling block, particularly for developers, seems to be the lack of infrastructure development in the area, especially at NAINA, an area defined as within 25 km of the project. This area includes developed cities such as Navi Mumbai and Panvel, and 70 villages.
While Larsen & Toubro has started work on developing part of the basic infrastructure in the area, such as roads, bridges, and sewer and water lines, much more is left to be done, partly due to local political opposition over the land pooling scheme of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the planning authority for NAINA.
"From what we have seen, much of the opposition is from a small group of land owners, and the vast majority of land owners have signed up for the scheme, as they will get part of the land back with enhanced floor-space index of 2.5. The opposition is largely linked to pending civic polls, and we expect the issues to lessen, once the civic polls are over," said a local land broker.
Similarly, the ripple effects of Hosur’s planned airport are also being felt in Bengaluru’s southern corridors. Areas like Sarjapur Road, Attibele, and Electronics City are beginning to attract speculative demand, with developers anticipating a surge in logistics hubs, townships, and warehousing, once the project takes shape.
“The airport is a major catalyst. Historically, proximity to airports has driven approximately 20–40 percent higher appreciation over five years. With Hosur expected to ease congestion from Kempegowda, the Sarjapur–Attibele–Hosur belt will likely see faster real estate growth and rental traction,” Prashant Kajaria, MD, SPA Group, said.
Developers bullish on Jewar, less on Navi Mumbai
Developers are quick to draw parallels with past airport-led booms. “Just as IGI Airport fuelled Gurgaon’s rise, Jewar and Navi Mumbai will unlock entirely new growth nodes,” said a Noida-based developer. “Plots around both airports have delivered multi-fold appreciation, and the momentum is far from over.”
Ashish Jerath, President - Sales & Marketing, Smartworld Developers, said that every real estate market has its inflection point, and Noida’s is unfolding now, especially with the impending inauguration of the Jewar airport.
“Noida not only benefits from residential buyers choosing it as an upgrade from both South Delhi and East Delhi, but with fast connectivity through expressways, and buyers from across Uttar Pradesh look at Noida as their NCR home and investment,” he said.
In Mumbai, however, developers are less-than-certain about a "boom". According to a Panvel-based developer, with the Trans-Harbour Atal Setu being the only viable mass transit link from the airport area to the rest of Mumbai, developers are still holding back land aggregation efforts.
He added that Navi Mumbai has been a developed real estate market for many years, with NAINA expected to be attractive to developers only after other mass transit options, such as more frequent and a wider suburban railway network such as the Panvel-Karjat corridor and more services on the Seawoods-Uran corridor, and an eventual metro railway project. He also cited the relative lack of economic activity in the region, apart from Navi Mumbai, as another hindrance.
Some business development by large players has taken place in the region, such as the Hiranandani Group's Fortune City project, which also includes data centres operated by group firm Yotta. Godrej Properties has launched its integrated township near Panvel, as has the IPO-bound Wadhwa Group.
The Adani Group, which is also developing the airport, is expected to carry out real estate projects through its Adani Realty arm, with media reports indicating that it is planning an integrated township near the new airport, akin to its Shantigram integrated city project near its Ahmedabad headquarters.
Buyers betting on long-term wealth
Residential propery buyers, too, are joining the rush. The craze of buying a residential plot near the upcoming airport is such that as many as 1.12 lakh people had applied for only 451 residential plots located in sector 24A along the Yamuna Expressway in December 2024.
“I purchased a plot in Sector 22D, along Yamuna Expressway, near the upcoming Jewar airport in 2022 for Rs 45 lakh—it’s worth over Rs 1.2 crore today,” said Priya Malhotra, a Delhi-based homebuyer.
The bigger picture
Experts believe the dual-airport effect will shape India’s urban future. With Jewar backed by Film City, YEIDA’s industrial townships, and logistics hubs, and Navi Mumbai supported by the Trans-Harbour Link, new metro lines, and corporate relocations, both corridors are poised to become investment hubs.
“The two airports are growth magnets. Once operational, these infrastructure projects will work as catalysts driving new urban economies. What we’re witnessing is the start of India’s next real estate super cycle,” Raheja said.
(With inputs from Padmini Dhruvaraj from Bengaluru)
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