The new address in demand

By Cyriac Joseph

Dwellings, be it residential or commercial, historically tend to gravitate around locations that has good infrastructure while at the same time serving as a strategic hub for a variety of activities. The many emerging suburbs of Bengaluru are no different, the urban footprint in these locations directly correlating with the level of facilities as well as connectivity to other important locations in and around the city..

Whitefield – perhaps the best example of a burgeoning suburb - is one such location which saw a flurry of activity over the last decade or so, thus culminating into a state where it appears to be bursting at its seams with its infrastructure stretched to the limits. On the other hand, North Bengaluru is fast emerging as a hotspot for both residential as well as commercial spaces of all hues. While this area already has a large footprint of the IT industry apart from other office and retail spaces, the residential segment continues to look up both in terms of pace of demand as well as the nature of demand.

North Bengaluru offers many inherent advantages with its meticulously planned infrastructure geared to take on urbanisation on a massive scale.

VANTAGE POSITIONING
Coupled with its proximity to the airport, seamless connectivity to the Central Business District (CBD) and rest of the city through its six lane highway, outer ring road as well as the upcoming metro and suburban rail, North Bengaluru today offers advantages that are unmatched by rest of the suburbs of Bengaluru. This is directly reflected in the scale at which residential developments are emerging in this location, with the units selling at a brisk pace as soon as they are launched.

Yelahanka New Town offers a host of facilities and excellent connectivity besides serving as a peaceful neighbourhood with its many defence establishments and large green belt. Hebbal is already a hotspot with its tech parks and vantage positioning between the international airport and the CBD. Devanahalli is fast emerging as the next hotspot for residences, especially plotted developments, with its proximity to KIAL and IT hubs like KIADB’s Hardware Park and the Aerospace Park. Thanisandra is another area in North Bengaluru which is also emerging as a preferred destination with its large land banks.

PLOTTED DEVELOPMENTS GATHERING TRACTION
An interesting feature to note is that while North Bengaluru’s real estate boom in the residential sector has so far veered around villas and apartment projects, presently there is a marked preference and interest in plotted developments. This is attributable to 2 main reasons:

Plots in a gated community come with all the security and social infrastructure to offer safe community living.

Plots permit the homeowner the flexibility to choose the type of design and dwelling they aspire for.

Typically these ready-tobuild ‘plug & play’ plots within a gated development are conceived with ample greenery and wide open spaces where the accent is on sustainable living modes with the customised individual dwellings offering a safe and healthy living environment. Besides, plotted developments are fast becoming the preferred option, yielding significantly higher returns on investment.

The demand for residences as well as plotted developments in North Bengaluru is primarily from the IT / ITeS professionals in the age group of 30-40 years with an annual income of between 10 – 15 lakh. We also see that the buyers are not just from Bangalore but across India.

A DESTINATION FOR ALL SEGMENTS
However, this does not preclude cost efficient residential developments which too form a key portion of the real estate boom driving North Bengaluru. While this may apply to families with young children looking for a first home that is affordable, the safe, peaceful environs of North Bengaluru also makes it a favourite destination for senior citizens as well as those looking for post-retirement homes.

In short, over the last few years, North Bengaluru has witnessed the launch of both high end villa developments and apartment complexes along with affordable homes besides the emerging senior living enclaves and post-retirement options for residents of Bengaluru.

This not only reflects the advantage that North Bengaluru holds for both residential and commercial developments through the presence of excellent civic infrastructure and connectivity, but also the higher liveability quotient of this region thus making it a preferred option for home seekers. The coming years will only see this interest translating into greater demand, manifesting on ground as extensive real estate activity in this region and transforming this once sleepy neighbourhood into a hotspot for rapid residential dev