Real estate boom in Wayanad
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Wayanad in Kerala is not just known for its greenery, the property boom is another fact adding to its regional character, says BIJU GOVIND
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RISE IN PRICES: The spurt in the tourism sector in the district had a tremendous impact on the real estate industry
A silent real estate boom is being experienced in one of the least expected regions of Kerala - Wayanad. One of the reasons cited for businesses showing an upward trend is the flourishing tourism sector and hospitality industry.
“Real estate value has increased in Vythiri and Sulthan Bathery. If the value of land at the Banasura dam site and Karapuzha dam site was Rs. 2 lakh an acre earlier, realtors now are quoting prices in the range of Rs.12 lakh to Rs.14 lakh an acre,” says K. Ravindran, secretary of the Wayanad Tourism Organisation and owner of Pranavam Homestay and Farm House at Pozhuthana.
Wayanad district, known for hill stations, spice plantations, copious forests, and Muthanga and Tholpetty wildlife sanctuaries, has been attracting tourists from all over the world. However, only in the recent past did tourism activities get a huge impetus with the mushrooming of homestays and resorts. And the efforts certainly go to the private entrepreneurs.
“The spurt in the tourism sector in the district had a tremendous impact on the real estate industry. Wayanad is a tourism spot. But land near dam sites, waterfalls, forests and places of historical importance are pricey,” says K.G. Rajesh of Aranyakam, near Meppadi. The sudden increase in prices started less than a year ago. If the price of a 2.5-acre land was quoted at Rs.8 lakh four months ago it is now sold off for Rs.12 lakh, said Rajesh, who recently purchased land adjoining to his ancestral house at Valathoor, which has been converted into the Aranyakam homestay.
Resorts
Homestays and resorts have become a big hit with the domestic and international tourists. Most of these have tree houses and independent huts attached to them atop a cliff.
A few of the resorts are located inside 100 to 300 acres of plantations with streams and waterfalls. Facilities offered can be compared with the five-star hotels in the city. These have suite rooms, restaurants, children’s park, travel desk and Internet facilities.
Mr. Rajesh says people are not buying land for agricultural purposes ever since the fall in prices of cash crops but are buying for cashing in on the growing tourism industry. "However entrepreneurs have clubbed tourism as well as the agricultural sectors," he says.
Interestingly, corporate houses and multinationals are also seeking to takeover the developed resorts in plantations and inside jungles. The prices quoted for some of them are in the range from Rs.25 crore to Rs.50 crore. Victor Dey, Director of Tranquil, a plantation hideaway at Kuppamudi Coffee Estate at Kolagappara, says that Wayanad has been put on the global tourism map.
Affordable
Homestays are affordable, offering services at the rate between Rs.200 and Rs.20,000. "However, most of our guests, 85 per cent of them, are foreigners. We usually target the corporate class from Bangalore, retired persons from United Kingdom and Switzerland," he says.
At Ambalavayal is the Edakkal Hermitage offering a host of services including cottage accommodation, camping facilities and a tree house, to visitors.
A coffee shop within a natural cavern, open air auditorium for culture and heritage events and a thatched restaurant giving an ambience in tune with nature are other features.
Since trekking is part of the Wayanad tourism, a few places close to the forests are quoted at higher prices. Foreign tourists like wide stretches of wilderness and mysterious mountains. "Land prices have increased at Lakkidi and Vythiri since property developers from Thalassery, Ernakulam and Malappuram districts are willing to pay more than their true value. On the Kalpetta-Mysore National Highway a cent of land fetched Rs.50,000 a few months ago. At present, it is valued at more than Rs.1.5 lakh,” says Sainul Aveed, based in Kalpetta.
He feels that the real estate brokers were fuelling an artificial increase taking advantage of the thriving tourism industry in Wayanad.
"It is acceptable if the price of land increased within the limits of Kalpetta municipality," he feels. But now large tracts of land in the interiors of spice plantations are put up for sale at a price higher than expected.
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