Temple towns sprouting as realty hotspots

A decade ago, who would have imagined that pilgrimage cities such as Haridwar, Mathura, Vrindavan or Puri would evolve as realty hotspots? The way in which these temple towns have metamorphosed into potential investment destination is nothing short of remarkable. People who invested the money when the land was available at throwaway prices have already garnered much above their expectations. So, are you willing to join this league of investors with a budget as low as Rs 5-12 lakh? If yes, then let Commonfloor take you on a divine ride of these temple towns.

So, why temple towns? Well, these are places where people are attracted by their spiritual sentiments. Apart from the spiritual pursuit, buying a residential unit in these cities come bundled with several benefits. One can use them as a second home or a retirement home.

If you are wondering that these small towns with population of mere 30,000 or 50,000 are not good investment options, then think again! From investment perspective also, these cities emerge as potential option. Since every year several devotees visit these places, one can rent out the residential unit as serviced apartment and increase the rental income. Just to throw a number, every year 18 million devotees visit Haridwar and interestingly more than 25,000 devotees visit Shirdi every day.

Earlier the major demand was mainly from local people both for investment purpose and for end use. However, since last three to four years, people from metro cities have also started considering these cities for investment purpose as these fetch healthy rental returns.

India is rightly characterised by epithet ‘land of gods’. In North, there are holy cities of Amritsar, Haridwar and the twin cities of Mathura and Vridavan. Eastern part of the country has Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark, while the western part is adorned with cities such as Nashik and Shirdi. Last but not the least, the southern part of the country boasts of numerous temple towns such as Madurai, Mahabalipuram, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Guruvayur, among several others. In all these cities, realty development is inching a new high.

Taking a cue from this, beside the local builders several bigwigs of the industry have also forayed into these temple towns. These include Assotech Realty, Omaxe Limited, Supertech, E&G Global Estates Limited, Shri Group, Shirdi Sai Developers, to name a few. With features, such as landscape garden overlooking water bodies, well-equipped gymnasium, modular kitchens and bathrooms, these developers are wooing buyers with ultra-modern amenities.

And all this comes to you in an affordable price bracket.Though the prices vary from city to city, on an average, a residential house of 600-1,200 sq ft is usually available within Rs 850-2,200 per sq ft. Thus, a 600 sq ft. unit, for instance, is available at Rs 5 lakh. On an average, the capital values range between Rs 5-25 lakh. Plots are also up for grab at a affordable rates. A plot of 800-1000 sq ft is available in the range of Rs 10-20 lakh.

As per the property type, residential houses and plots top the demand and supply ladder, closely followed by multi-storey apartments and studio apartments.

So, is it good to invest in temple towns? Well, yes. “In the present scenario of economic slowdown, real estate sector has witnessed a steep fall in demand for the residential property in Tier II cities, but there is no major slump in the demand in religious town. In fact on the contrary, there is an annual rise of 15 -17 per cent for properties in these towns,” says R K Arora, CMD, Supertech Ltd. However, since most of these cities fall under Tier II and III categories, for returns, investors must have a long-term horizon. On an yearly basis, one can expect about 8-10 per cent capital appreciation.

Though, a nascent trend, property pundits believe that due to soaring property values in metro cities, this trend is here to stay!