Best places to buy affordable apartments in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad has always been a favourable residential destination for people for various compelling reasons. Housing a number of IT/ITES companies, textile mills, manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical companies, and more, it contributes a commendable part of the state's economy. It is also known for housing various popular educational institution such as CEPT, IIM and NID. With all required amenities, developed infrastructure, numerous job opportunities and more, what else can one ask for more than this to invest on any properties in Ahmedabad? 

With that said, the real estate in Ahmedabad is always on a high peak with a perfect equilibrium of demand and supply. Ahmedabad is one of the few cities in India where you can buy affordable flats without compromising on any basic amenities. While Ahmedabad on the whole is a realty hot spot, there are few locations in and around it that offer apartments at affordable prices. If you are looking out to buy 3BHK flats in Ahmedabad for a reasonable price, then you will have various choices of locations left before you. 

Satellite

Situated on the west of Ahmedabad, Satellite is the developed locality that offers affordable houses and properties in Ahmedabad. The inventory of both residential and commercial property in Satellite is very high to meet the demand from midlevel income group people. With a number of popular educational institutions, hospitals, entertainment centres, shopping malls, cinemas, and more, Satellite makes a best place for families to invest and live in. With a fast developing physical and social infrastructure, well-laid roads, connectivity, and transport, it remains as a desirable realty destination for many in the recent years. Even the capital values of properties in Ahmedabad Satellite is also reasonable and are escalated by 22% this year for which it attracts a number of potential buyers. This high appreciation rate have drawn investors towards it.

Bopal

Bopal which was once a satellite town & Gram Panchayat is now a municipality in the Ahmedabad district. Bopal and its neighbouring village Ghuma have been merged and granted a 'municipality' status in February 2015. It also forms the western part of Ahmedabad. With a comparatively lower cost of living, it is considered as the best place for middle income group people. It is because of this reason, Bopal offers affordable 2 and 3 BHK apartments in Ahmedabad. Availability of huge land parcels in this locality make it possible for investors to buy properties in Ahmedabad Bopal for affordable prices. So they are able to offer well-built apartments with all civic amenities at reasonable prices.

Gota

Gota a popular suburb of Ahmedabad is well known to offer affordable apartments. Located on the SG highway, it has attracted so many construction projects in recent past. The availability of land parcels at lower prices is the main reason that attract investors here. Investing comparatively lower prices on land, the builders are able to offers best living spaces at affordable cost, which lures middle class people to invest here.

Some of the other localities where you can find affordable properties in Ahmedabad includes Surat, Kodakdev, SG Highway and Motera.

Steady growth of real estate in Ghaziabad

Called as the “Gateway of Uttar Pradesh”, Ghaziabad is the fastest growing city of the country. It is a planned industrial city, which is complete with well-connected roads and railways. With a developed infrastructure, educational institutions and health centres, Ghaziabad is a perfect place to live in. With so many housing clusters such as Indirapuram, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Kaushambi, Ghaziabad provides affordable housing for its people. There are several new projects coming up in these areas that cater to both middle income group of people and high income group of people.

The major realty growth in Ghaziabad is mainly contributed by the NH-24 and NH 58, which are gaining popularity for residential properties in Ghaziabad. As the locations around these highways are located near to Delhi and also has various infrastructural developments, they boost the real estate of Ghaziabad. Also the availability of flats in Ghaziabad at affordable prices have attracted potential buyers to it. Both residential and commercial development happens mainly near these two highways. In short you can say only NH24 and NH-58 helps in keeping the Ghaziabad real estate in peak.

The Metro line that runs in Vaishali at Arthala has made a positive impact in its real estate... Also the multilateral flyover at Ghazipur Chowk, a flyover at Mohan Nagar Chowk connecting NH-58 and a link road connecting NH-58 to the residential zone at Raj Nagar Extension all offer easy and convenient connectivity between different localities of the city making people to invest in any of these areas without the fear of accessibility. With a launch of several new projects in NH-24 and NH-58, these area came into prominence in real estate in Ghaziabad.

Located in close proximity to Delhi, Ghaziabad has a mixture of people from different culture and classes that help in increasing demand for both affordable and premium flats in Ghaziabad. So people who work in the other costly cities around Ghaziabad such as Noida and Greater Noida prefer to stay here due to its connectivity and affordability.

Investors in Ghaziabad also follow a particular trend to keep moving with the growth of real estate in the city. They prefer to buy newly launched properties in Ghaziabad and sell them within a short span of time. In this way they try to increase the appreciation rate of properties. For instance if an investor buys a property today for Rs. 30 lakhs, try to sell in in a period of three to four months to a Rs.40 to 45 lakhs. This helps them in constant cash flow and in increasing the rate of appreciation of properties.

Not just investor played a main role in improving the real estate sector of Ghaziabad, but also the government. The government helped in improving and promoting the industrialization in and around the highways. Apart from residential areas, industries, logistics, production units, environmental protection facilities, public utilities, social infrastructure and administrative services help the real estate thrive in these areas. Hence the demand for residential apartments in Ghaziabad increased with time. These areas witnessed a lot of residential projects launching at a rapid speed.

What is ready reckoner rate?

When you decide on buying a property, the next thing you have to do is to improve your knowledge on all real estate trends and real estate market.
It is also necessary for potential buyers in real estate to know and understand various terms and words used in the Chennai real estate. While there are a lot of terms used, ready reckoner rates is something that every buyers should know about. Ready reckoner rates are prices that are regulated and published by the respective state government on residential property, land or commercial property. Every state government revises these rates on an annual basis. Only based on these rates any property buyer will have to pay stamp duty for his purchase. These rates differ from each and every locality.

How do ready reckoner rates affect real estate prices?
Ready reckoner rate is the primary factor that brings in a big change in the real estate prices of any location.  Though these rates are set by the state government, the builders have freedom to charge premium above this ready reckoner rates. But builders are not allowed to sell the property less than the ready reckoner rates. The difference between the selling price and the ready reckoner rates will be a black money transaction.

Whenever the government rises these rates, then obviously the real estate prices will also increase. Also the fees and tax that the builders will have to pay to the government will also increase with ready reckoner rates. So builder will surely impose these rates on buyers thus resulting in increased selling rice of land and apartment for sale in Chennai.  Not just builders and sellers, these rates also affects people who already own a property in Chennai as the tax to pay to the Municipal Corporation also increases with these rates.

How to know the ready reckoner rates?
You can easily know the ready reckoner rates of any particular location through the ready reckoner site. You can also know this rate from the websites of registration and stamp duty department each state. This helps in maintaining a transparency in the real estate prices across the state and the country. You can also get the rates from office of the sub-registrar where the property in transaction has to be registered.

Ready reckoner rates and built-up area
Ready reckoner rates are always connected to built-up area and not with the super built-up area or the carpet area of the flat in Chennai. The highest revenue source of every state government is through the ready reckoner rates (stamp duty registration). The government has insisted all builders to sell the apartments in Chennai on basis of only the carpet area and not the super built-up area. But most of the builders sell their property only on basis of super built-up area. Even when some builders obey the government, they increase the per square feet area.

Always remember to know the ready reckoner rates of all area in Chennai if you are planning to buy an apartment for sale in Chennai. There are also online calculator to calculate the ready reckoner rate and stamp duty value of any property.

Points that should not be overlooked while buying an apartment!

Indians are known to overlook aspects which are considered important by people worldwide. For example, while buying a car in India safety and quality takes the back seat while mileage and pricing takes the front seat! We are indeed a practical group of people but some important factors have to be considered while buying something that stays with us for a long time. And when it comes to long term investments, buying a home is the most important purchase of all.

In this article, we try to cover some of the points which are generally overlooked by us but should actually be considered as important as the price and location of the house we buy.

Better safe than sorry – Home Protection

Be it a rural area, town or a metropolitan like Chennai or Mumbai, buying property should always consider the safety aspect of the home. If you are purchasing a plot make sure that the locality has a police station, fire service center and also opt for a gated community for added security.

If it is an apartment make sure that the doors and windows and the locks provided by the builder have grilled reinforcements and upgrade them to better quality gear if needed. If your purchase is a retirement solution, make sure that there is help readily available in the form of an association that is helpful.

Legal opinions and second opinions!

Never jump in blindly going by the tags ‘Clear Title’, ‘100% Documents’ and such. Those are commonly used marketing jargons that are in no way validated by anyone. Get the copy of the documents from the builder / developer / promoter and get a legal opinion of it.

Don’t shy away from getting a second opinion if not confident enough. Also, if the property ownership is going to be joint ownership, get the legalities out of the way first up without rushing into it at the last moment.

Surroundings matter

It not just how the house is on the inside, but the approach and surroundings also matter. Often builders lay out a lawn, a pool surrounded by a jogging track and greenery to attract buyers. But if the project is nearby to a waste land or a swamp it is going to be a tricky place to live in!

In the same way, if the approach roads are not well laid or if there are slums nearby, if will be a problem in the longer run. Residential apartments near to industries that pollute are highly not recommended. Research around and see and ask opinions about the locality.

Builder History

There is nothing wrong in trusting a new builder but it is always a safe bet to invest your hard earnt money with a property developer who is well established in the real estate market. With experience comes better quality. Also, visit old projects to see how the construction holds up. Do check on how long the builder supports maintenance for the building after handing over for occupation. The longer the warranty, the more confidence the builder has on his own project!

Atul Joshi is an environmental activist who closely monitors the Green Moment of Indian real estate. He loves sharing the information he holds to the public and he reaches out through IndiaProperty.com

Will the plans on linking property sale and GIS maps bring in transparency in Mumbai Real Estate?

The property prices in Mumbai and other cities are rising rapidly these days owing to the huge demand from potential buyers. With increased potential buyers who seek out for perfect location to buy a property in Mumbai, the demand have increased. The price of a property is highly affected by its location. Even the reckoner rates fixed by the government on each property mainly depends on the location. For instance a property located on a prime location near a bust stand, a railway station or airport tend to have high prices when compared to a property in remote location. So government fixes the reckoner rates only depending the growth of the place in which the property is located.

Reckoner Rates

Reckoner rates fixed by the government decides the rates of the immovable property like commercial and residential properties in Mumbai. It is based on these rates that the stamp duty and registration fees of any particulate property is collected by the Stamps and Registration department of the government. Each state government in the country determines these rates annually based on the location of the property. The government also has full authority to rise these rates.

Recent plan of Maharashtra Government

Though these reckoner rates are analysed and changed every year by the government, it is not very transparent to the public. To make reckoner calculation precise and transparent the Maharashtra Government have recently announced a new plan. According to the new plan, the property transaction data will linked with GIS maps. Initially pilot projects will be started in three cities of the state such as Mumbai, Pune and Thane.

When property registrations are linked with GIS maps, then it would be easy for the government to get precise reckoner rates for each part of the state. Reckoner rates as of now are calculated based on the market rates, local inquiries, documents registered with the department, information from media reports, real estate exhibitions and market intelligence. But all these factors are subject to frequent changes that may affect the ready reckoner rates.

When this plan is executed, the ready reckoner rates will calculated with scientific average calculated by automatic analysis of property transactions in a particular city survey number. This will use satellite imagery to know each and every development in different areas of the state and how it bring in changes in the property prices.

Challenges in the plan

Though this plan may bring in transparency and accuracy in reckoner rates, it has certain challenges. Getting property transaction details of individual Flats in Mumbai may be difficult as most area of the state may not have been updated and digitised. Also it would be difficult to identify the transaction area with just a survey number.

The use of GIS in real estate is a good news to Indian real estate. Location is the prime factor that influences real estate. GIS helps us receive accurate data on the geographical location of any property. Hence we can use GIC not just in analysing property transaction but also in various other task in real estate such as market analysis, spatial analysis and property research.

Benefits of opting for Joint Ownership

Buying a property is not all about choosing the right location, looking for amenities and accessibility and transport facilities in the area. There is more than what meets the eye when it comes down to purchasing the property. The factors that make property buying in Mumbai and other metros a hassle range from financial deadlocks to legal issues. A number of these factors, however, can be nullified to an extent by opting to get into the property purchase as a joint ownership with your spouse or your parent(s).

In today’s economy, joint ownership always makes more sense and even the government is well aware of the fact and that is why our government offers a number of incentive benefits while going in for a Joint Ownership. Stamp duty and registration charges are much lower in such cases which clearly suggest that the government is promoting the case for a joint ownership.

With the property in Mumbai and other metros clearly rocketing sky high, it becomes next to impractical, let alone being impossible to buy an apartment or a villa on a single person’s income. Financial burden is shared when joint ownership comes into play and the initiatives of the Indian Government for women empowerment also means that the interest rates could be lower.

Joint Ownership of a property does not come in a ratio and promotes equal rights to the title for both parties. Hence, it is suitable for couples and in fact could strengthen the bond early into married life. Another huge advantage would be that in the unlikely event such as the death of a person would entitle the other owner to completely inherit the property without having to face any legal tangles.

Loan repayments can be done either by both parties separately or by holding a joint bank account. The loan eligibility also becomes higher since the calculation is done by combining the salary of both the parties instead of just one. Both owners can also claim tax benefits which is a huge advantage for any salaried individual.

The entire of the stamp duty will be waivered off if in case the property is jointly owned by a woman. In a few states in the country, if in case a joint owner dies, if the other owner happens to be the spouse, the procedure for transfer of ownership is very simple. The property is not treated as an addition to the surviving owner’s property list which makes tax calculation simpler and more profitable for the surviving mate, making it easier to survive the loss.

Also, flats in Mumbai that are owned jointly are easier to pledge if it happens to be the need of the hour. Banks and other financial institutions are ready to take up joint ownership properties since they have more security of getting back the money since twice the number of repayment individuals are present. 

Also, if the repayment is done without any arrears, future borrowing on the property becomes child’s play making it a profitable venture for both the parties. So, choose wisely on how you register your next property!

Powai is turning out to be one of India's startup hub

The startup revolution in India is just mushrooming at a greater speed. Though metro cities serve as a best ecosystem for startup hubs, even non-metro cities such as Powai and Kormangala have also become a best ecosystem for new, upcoming hubs. As many cities across the country have started the race in becoming a powerful industrial and financial base, it is too early for us to decide on one city that could beat the other cities in the race. With these financial and industrial development, the real estate market in those areas are definitely going to be profited to a greater extent. The prices of Mumbai properties, properties in Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata are on the verge of rising.



The prime reason for Powai to turn into a thriving startup hub is its close proximity to the IIT Bombay. The fresh and talented graduates from IIT Bombay are keen on developing new business and online sites. With these development of new companies, Mumbai is turning out to the future face of India's economic growth, which in other way has enhanced its growth in real estate sector. The properties in Mumbai have rising prices that go high each and every year.

Powai, the developing business hub has so many people with innovative ideas, technical knowledge, and knowledge about business in local and nationwide. Located in close vicinity to IIT Bombay, it is a house of talented and enthusiastic graduates who wish to grow up in their own, new business. For instance the Housing.com, an online property search site was first started in a dormitory in Mumbai by 12 IIT Bombay students in 2012, now it gives its service to about 40 cities in India. These kind of startup companies have attracted many Venture Capital firms such as Sequoia Capital to Powai. The costs and groundwork of starting and conducting business in Powai seems to be in a reachable distance for all energetic graduates. With such startups, the flats in Powai have now drawn interest from many potential buyers.

Various other startups in Powai region include Instamojo, TinyOwl, Toppr, OpenTable, Belita, Purple Squirrel, InOpen Technologies, Enelek, and MoFirst. Every year Mumbai had earlier seen only 5 investment proposal but it has increased to about 50 mainly due the IIT Bombay students. There are several ventures from IITB alumni such as Olacabs, Housing.com, and more. The affordable rentals available in Powai have made many IITB graduates and entrepreneurs to stay there and start up their ventures. These factors have helped Powai to become a successful commercial city.

Powai has not just stopped from becoming one of the birthplace of several renowned companies, it has also emerged as a best residential location for many. The huge number of properties in Powai and upcoming flats in Powai are visible examples for its residential development.

These startups have not just made Powai proud and popular, but also the Mumbai city. There are several Angel Investment firms and mentors in Mumbai for those enthusiastic startup founders and entrepreneurs in and around Mumbai.