Airports in Tier II and Tier III cities- A game changer measure

Authored by Ashok Mohanani, Chairman, EKTA World  The majority of India’s real estate market is getting moving into metropolitan cities such as NCR, MMR, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata. The movementin the real estate sector is now pushed down for modification towards smaller cities. The scarcity of land resources, high land and construction-related cost, unaffordable housing prices, high inventory levels, declining demand, sparse infrastructural facilities, and a high cost of living are constraining developers and investors to shift their focus towards Tier II and III cities. The government’s foresightto developaround 100new airports around the country starting with cities/towns likeShirdi in Maharashtra, Hisar in Haryana, and Durgapur in West Bengal is also adding impetus to the growth story of these cities. This move has many investors taking into account buying homes or second homes near the airports in the hope of making the most of the location. When new airports are announced, the plans are usually met with a lot of fanfare. There’s hope that comes along with it. In the realty sector, this translates to increased demand and inquiries for projects near the land demarcated for the airport. The nearby locality is likely to get affected as it will then be considered as a route to give better connectivity and access to the many otherunknown cities/location. Improving connectivity is the prime intention and reason to better development of these cities. These will influx more industry players and create employment opportunities for the citizens in and around the city. Realty will too see a major change in the price, and soon will observe a growing curiosity among home buyers and investors.There is definitely a sentiment impact on the dwellers of in and around the city with an announcement like this. The positivity does get translated to the realty sector and has a positive effect on demand and leads to a strong trend of curiosity and bring in a change in prices too. The cabinet is certain to develop Shirdi, Amravati, Gondia, Nashik, Jalgaon, Nanded, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg airports in the first phase; of which Shirdi and Nanded are state government-owned. Ratnagiri a coastguard airport is anticipated to be accessible for UDAN only in 2019, while Amravati is in anticipation of bidders. An airport cannot be urbanized under UDAN unless an airline asks us for a portion of route; it is after this that AAI grants the route to them. Airport can be built only after witnessing/observing the need/demand seen and bidders bid for it. As per thecurrent scenario , Nashik, Nanded, Kolhapur and Jalgaon airports are serviceable, while on theother hand, the Ratnagiri, Gondia, Sindhudurg and Amaravati airports are yet to come up. Many renowned real estate developers are coming up with luxurious and affordable residential projects transforming these places into the most desirable areas to live. Thus, low to mid segment homes in these places are another reason why it is becoming highly popular. A variety of best educational institutes, pinnacle restaurants with multi-cultural cuisine and nightclubs, best healthcare units and hospitals, these areas will be armed with every socio-cultural amenity to serve best social life. Indian real estate market is developing gradually after the currentchaos and regulatory developments. Focus on end-user driven demand and therefore, shift towards smaller cities and towns is at the focal point of this transformation. While it may not help everyone, those who will seize the changing market scenario and will unfold as winners.