The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : T. Nagar continues to be vibrant realty check

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Thursday, Jan 08, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

T. Nagar continues to be vibrant realty check

Aloysius Xavier Lopez

Despite a dip in the number of property transactions, craze still goes on

— Photo: S.S. Kumar

UNFAZED: Property values in T.Nagar continue to be relatively unaffected by the global economic crisis.

CHENNAI: As the city is trying to free itself from the shackles of a dull realty, vibrant and exciting T.Nagar has continued to be relatively unperturbed in the realm of realty.

Despite a dip in the number of property transactions in the area, the craze for buying property in T.Nagar has remained relatively unaffected, say realtors.

“The pessimistic market sentiment has been the most important factor in decreasing the number of transactions. But the market conditions have not been able to reduce considerably the inflated property value in the area,” said Sivakumar Ramakrishnan, a property consultant.

A new residential construction project in proximity to North Usman Road has fetched Rs.10,000 per sq ft recently. This rate is the same as that of the prevailing rates last year, according to property consultants. The residential property value in areas such as CIT Nagar starts from Rs.8,000.

Buyers and sellers of property in T.Nagar are waiting for the market to provide them better leverage in property transaction.

However residents say that rental value has reduced by 30 per cent in some residential areas of T.Nagar.

“People are just waiting for the inflated property value to decrease, but the area has enough demand to maintain the inflated value,” says M.K.Sundaram, Chairman of the Builders Association of India (South Centre).

As T.Nagar with better connectivity and commercial nature has emerged as the gateway to the city for people from various parts of the country, the inflated property value will not decrease significantly, say brokers.

Brokers say rentals for residential buildings are Rs.15 to 18 per sqft and commercial and IT space get Rs.40-60 per sqft.

The IT industry affected by economic crisis has made an impact in the area with IT space becoming vacant in T.Nagar. Areas around Venkatnarayana Road and G.N.Chetty Road have become the IT hub in the area with many buildings to house IT Companies. This had earlier increased the land value from Rs.1.5 crore per ground to Rs.3.50 crore to Rs.4 crore per ground.

The value remains without correction even after IT industry experiencing the effect of recession in the world economy, says Mr. Ramakrishnan. But he adds many buyers are waiting for a correction in the market to buy property in T.Nagar.

Landlords in T.Nagar continue to have the psychological edge as the area continues to be the prime location of commercial establishments in the city, says A.J.Rajan, a resident. Rapid conversion of residential buildings for commercial purposes has contributed to the increase in the property value, he adds.

Land value has not increased in areas such as CIT Nagar to the southern side of Boag Road as the regulations do not permit multi-storey buildings. The land value is around Rs.1.5 crore per ground, said Mr. Sundaram.

Problems faced by residents including parking issues and traffic congestion have not affected the property value, said T.Viswanath, a resident. Despite problems T.Nagar continues to have its charm in realty, he says.

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