News
& Views on Indian Real Estate
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Property Price Graph going downwards in Chennai
Property prices in Chennai in the last two years have shot up by almost 200 percent but currently, the situation seems gloomy. In fact, some realty players have sold only a couple of houses in the last six months. According to experts, there has been a 90 percent drop in demand for residential projects since the start of the year. Office rentals are also seeing a correction. The Central Business District in Chennai has seen a 15 percent drop. Most real estate developers in Chennai say they are struggling to sell flats, with one real estate player admitting he has sold just one flat in the last six months. Analysts say that this is the time for developers to sit back and take a realistic look at prices.
Prices coming down is one side of the coin, while the other side is its impact on the environment, ground water levels, forestry, nature, etc. To sum up, the IT boom, though beneficial in one aspect, is quite detrimental in the other. Its disheartening to see that the cultural and traditional richness of India are being thrown away to embrace the modern western way of life.
I do corroborate on one key point. Planning is quite vital, be it vasthu or feng shui. When these do matter, doesn't the enviromental impacts of a building? What measures are we undertaking towards this end? Its easy to throw questions, but the means to an end start there.
Some of my thoughts...
With companies, particularly in the IT and BPO industry, holding back their expansion plans due to slowdown fears, the commercial real estate market posted a lackluster show in the 2nd quarter of 2008.
The June quarter saw office space demand lagging far behind the supply levels of 18.07 million sq. ft. across major cities, as companies turned cautious.