Chandigarh Capital Region Realty

The current realty market expansion across Chandigarh Capital Region and roadmap for developing Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar into Smart Cities will improve the real-estate landscape of the region. Tejinder Pal Setia, Chairman, Mona Townships Pvt Ltd elaborates.   What is the current residential properties demand and supply scenario in Chandigarh &around? The real estate scenario in Chandigarh is in stark contrast to its surrounding locations with property prices skyrocketing in the city as a result of the demand-supply mismatch. While supply in Chandigarh has nearly reached a saturation point in view of paucity of space, the demand never ceases to grow as Chandigarh has always been the first choice of home buyers. Investors and end-users are now exploring pocket-friendly locations in the adjoining Mohali district, where the newly opened international airport, Aero City and the upcoming IT Park have emerged as major propellers of realty growth in the region. Realtors are majorly focusing on Mohali district, where Zirakpur, Gazipur, Kharar-Landran road and upcoming areas of Mohali city like the airport road, 200-ft ring road and the places in the vicinity of the new district administrative complex have immense growth potential. Strategically connecting Panchkula, Zirakpur, Mohali and Kharar from the business point of view, this area provides excellent connectivity and direct access to Punjab to people travelling from Delhi without having to pass through Chandigarh, thus offering a unique advantage to enterprises for setting up regional offices and distribution centres for their logistics. Consequently, the entire stretch has become a preferred base for NRIs as well as commercial establishments, business houses, cargo-related businesses and the hospitality industry. Going by these developments and the visible trends, the demand and supply of property prices in Mohali and adjoining areas are expected to go up by 20-30% in the next three years. The current residential demand in the Chandigarh Capital Region (CCR) consisting of Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Zirakpur and Khararis particularly for units in the range of Rs. 25-40 lakh. The pace of launching new projects has been slow in the higher price segment in the wake of demonetisation and implementation of RERA. The affordable housing push by the government through the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, which offers interest subsidy of around 3 percent to the affordable sector, and the revision of GST rate on work contracts for affordable housing from 18% - 12% is also helping boost demand in this bracket.Also, with the policy getting implemented both at the Central and state levels, the interest rates for affordable housing will come down to 5%, which will be on a par with developed countries like Australia   The direction North India real-estate is taking & major micro-markets of the region The real estate market in North India has shifted to the ready-to-move-in scenario. The stamp duty reduction by the Punjab government will also improve the real estate sentiment. The move to reduce the circle rates in the state is also a step in the right direction.The major upcoming micro markets of the region include Mohali, Zirakpur, Gazipurand Kharar-Landran road. The rising employment opportunities in CCR in the education and government sectors and IT-related businesses has led to a lot of migration in the past four-five years. But since there is little scope for the horizontal expansion of Chandigarh, it is some fast-developing areas of adjoining Mohali district which have emerged as hotspots for investors in the region. However, the rising population will bring its own set of challenges as it will put considerable strain on the available infrastructure and resources. Keeping the CCR clean and green will be a major challenge in the years to come. The focus should be on infrastructure, electricity, roads and proper sewage treatment and disposal facilities. The potential areas which are witnessing unprecedented growth in the periphery of Chandigarh are Mohali City, Zirakpur, Gazipurand Kharar-Landran road. While Mohali district as a whole is witnessing maximum appreciation, the opening of the international airport has given a big boost to real estate activities in certain pockets of Mohali city like the IT Park, GMADA Aero City, the 200-ft ring road and the Airport Road as a whole. Another place in Mohali district which has caught the attention of real estate developers is Zirakpur. With the urban development of Zirakpur now conforming to a detailed master plan, its peripheral area of Gazipur, in its new avatar as Sector 15, will emerge as one of the most sought after locations for those on the lookout for properties which promise handsome returns. When it comes to affordable housing, projects on the Kharar-Landran road also score high. It is in close proximity to the Mohali-Zirakpur highway and the Mohali international airport and strategically located on National Highway-21. The work on widening the state highway till Ludhiana has already begun.This stretch will soon become a hub of real estate development. In fact, it is the first preference of people who want to settle closer to Mohali. The USP of the projects on the Kharar-Landran road is its ready-to-move-in flats. Mona Township has come up with six projects in Zirakpur and Mohali, including Mona Greens, VIP Road, Zirakpur; Mona Greens II, Gazipur, Zirakpur; Mona Aeroviews, Swastik Vihar, Zirakpur, Mona Paradise Apartments, Sector 127, Mohali and Mona City Homes, Sector 115, Mohali. Our latest project, Mona City Homes, a high-rise township spread across 6.47 acres is located near the 200-ft Kharar-Landran (KL) Road. Besides, our mixed-use project, J90, is coming up over 14 acres in Sector 90, Mohali.   What are the improvements needed in government policies to streamline the real-estate business One of the important changes needed in government policy is the introduction of a single-window clearance system, which will bring down the time taken to start a project after acquisition of land to an appreciable extent. Single-window clearance will help bring down prices in the long run as the margins would increase, enabling developers to pass on the benefits to the customers. We also expect the government to have in place the requisite infrastructure in terms of metro connectivity, a well-planned network of roads, assured electricity and water supply and a state-of-the-art sewage disposal and solid waste management system. Planned development can make all the difference. Futuristic planning holds the key to sustainable urban development. We should plan ahead keeping in view the growing requirements of at least the next 10 years, or else we will be inviting huge traffic bottlenecks.