After floods its business as usual for Chennai real estate

The recent unprecedented floods in Chennai has indeed put a spanner in the works of the real estate firms in the booming southern metropolis and its fledgling outskirts, albeit briefly.

After almost two weeks of hibernation and bright sun shine for almost ten days now, it is business as usual for real estate firms which are using innovative means to lure people to sell their projects.  While some draw people’s attention by claiming that the areas where their residential projects are coming up are safe as they have not been affected by floods, others are making indirect attempts to sell their projects in worst affected areas in and around Chennai by becoming good Samaritans.

The floods have virtually stopped all construction activities in the southern city and its outskirts. The real estate sector, which is already reeling under stagnation and negative growth for the last few years due to sagging economic growth, will find it hard to withstand the effects of the recent floods.

Several residential projects in Chennai’s most sough-after fringe areas on OMR, ECR and GST Roads and other prominent locations such as Maraimalainagar, Perungalathur, Thoraipakkam, Porur, Poonamalle,  Ambattur and Avadi were remained unsold and the floods have made the situation even worse. People may go choosy in selecting the areas now and most of the ground floor apartments will likely to find ‘no’ takers, feel real estate experts.

Under pressure, the developers and builders are worried to sell their homes. Take for example, the areas in west Tambaram and Mudichchur, which have several independent homes and villas bore the maximum brunt, with almost all of them went under water sinking the silt and ground floors inundating several cars and destroying properties worth crores of rupees.

Before the floods, these areas were one of the hottest destinations for home seekers in Chennai and real estate firms were making no mistakes in tapping the opportunities.  But now, there is not even a single real estate advertisement appearing on national dailies giving details about housing projects in Tambaram, Mudichchur, Nandambakkam or Velacherry. 

All these areas were the worst affected as several lives were lost here and several well-to-do-families virtually came on roads after losing their belongings due to the burgeoning Adayar River on the fateful night on December 1 when officials suddenly opened the flood gates of Chembarambakkam reservoir near Chennai.

After more than ten days now, some areas in KK Nagar, Valasaravakkam, Madippakkam are still under knee-deep water.  But sun slowly has started shining again on real estate firms in Chennai.

One can see a lot of real estate ads making their way in local and national dailies luring people with discounts and goodies to sell flats and plots, and in another month or so, people may even go for sight visits in areas of west Tambaram, Madipakkam, Keelkattalai or Mudichchur to purchase properties forgetting the fact that these areas were once the water bodies and now busy residential areas, thanks to the “efforts” taken by real estate sharks and corrupt officials.

With the state government, private organizations and enthusiastic individuals taking efforts to help the affected people, real estate firms in Chennai are now busy as usual, trying to reach out to their customers by all available means to sell their projects taking advantage of Chennaiites eternal affinity of owing homes.

K Ramanathan

Also published in Merinews.com.

Make way for PG homes

Builders in Chennai have found a new market for their product, particularly for single bedroom tenements. 

Thanks to the burgeoning floating population of professionals belonging to IT and ITeS, automobile, education and engineering sectors from various states and within Tamil Nadu, the city has been witnessing huge demand for PG accommodation and 1 BHK flats on rent. The rental too has hit the roof due to the high demand.

Since the city is also home to several colleges, both within the central business district and on the outskirts, students from outside Chennai generally look for safer places to stay, where their food and other basic needs are taken care of much to the relief of their parents. And, builders and house owners are taking advantage of this unprecedented rush for smaller homes.

“Students and professionals from other states prefer Paying Guest (PG) accommodation.  These units are well furnished with basic facilities. They too provide homemade food for tenants. Most of them have facilities such as Wi-Fi connectivity, LCD television with DTH connection, refrigerator, magazines, furniture, etc. Each room is being provided with a single bed, study table, wardrobe and dressing table,” says Niharika Kapoor, an IT professional working in Taramani, who stays at Velachery.

The hubs for PG accommodation in Chennai are Mambalam, Nungambakkam, Velachery, Kodambakkam, Tambaram and Mylapore. Some of the places where IT professional look for homes are Thiruvanmiyur, Thorapakkam, Sholinganalur, OMR, Karaipakkam, Medavakkam, Porur and Iyyappanthangal.

The rates too vary as per the facility available. For non A/C accommodation with hosts of other facilities homeowners are charging anywhere between Rs 6000 to RS 10,000 per month and for non A/C rooms without sharing, one has to shell out between Rs 3500 to Rs 5.500, says Gopal Menon, a student, who stays in Tambaram West.

Majority of the demand for PG accommodation is in locations, which are closer to the IT corridors of the city. However, maximum supply is concentrated in Thorapakkam, Thiruvanmiyur and Sholinganalur, which is close to IT corridor, since it has cheaper transportation towards work places.

“People, who may be professional or student come to the city from other states. They look for safer place to stay for few months. Hence, they prefer PG accommodation rather than renting small-sized apartments, where they have to pay huge security deposit,” says  Sridharan, who let out PG rooms exclusively for girls in Velachery.

The unprecedented demand for PG accommodation or independent single bedroom apartments has forced many denizens to convert their homes into PG accommodation for better earning. ‘We have a few projects for joint development for PG accommodation- cum-single-bedroom apartments from owners in Tambaram, Thoraipakkam and Porur. We have making one in Iyyappanthagal, where the demand is more since it is closer to DLF IT Park and Sri Ramachandra Hospital, says Somesh Verma, Senior Marketing Manager of Om Ganesh Construction.

Needles to say, the real estate prices are going up in certain pockets of the city where it has huge demand for such accommodation. In places like West Tambaram, Kattupakkam, Ramapuram, Kundrathur and Chrompet, the demand is more for single room tenements being sought by college students, nurses and IT professionals.

TVS group ventures into real estate business, unveils first project in Chennai

CHENNAI: After being in the business of auto components and two-wheelers for over four decades, the Chennai-headquartered TVS Group has unveiled its plan to diversify into real estate.

The auto major has promoted Emerald Haven Realty which has already launched a housing project in Chennai. The maiden project -- Green Hills in Perungalathur, just South of Chennai, has been conceived. In all, there are 448 apartments in the project, with a price range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 45 lakh.  The apartments will be available in 2 BHK configuration, with option of 3 sizes.

While no financial details were available, sources said that the real estate foray is a significant strategic decision by the group, reports Times of India. 

"In the last 40 years, TVS has not created another mass market business after automobile components and two wheelers, particularly motorcycles," said a consultant with direct knowledge of the matter, who further added, "The group missed the IT wave which added significant value and size to companies like Wipro, M&M and . Real estate can be the game changer for TVS."

Though it is bit early to say that the venture would be the game changer for the Group, analysts feel that TVS again missed the time for entering into real estate when the sector is going through rough patch due to economic downturn for the last two years.

Well connected by road and rail links, and located before the start of the Chennai Bypass Road (which offers easy access to Porur, Madhuravoyal and surrounding localities), Perungalathur offers easy access to the rest of the city. It is currently the southern junction of choice for boarding on/off the south-bound long-distance buses. The proposed mono-rail facility linking Vandalur with Velachery, would also work in favor of this suburb in becoming a choice for those who might need to commute for work towards Velachery. Priced right, TVS Green Hills should be an attractive option for those looking into invest in this upcoming locality.