Lucknow
Lucknow is fast shedding its image as a tier II city and graduating into a plausible investment ground.
Pratap Bidasaria is a 32-year old businessman. For work and settlement, he mostly stays away from his hometown Lucknow where he has his ancestral home. But when it comes to an investment, he settled for a second home in Gomti Nagar.
Biasaria is not alone, many natives of the city are contemplating on buying real estate assets.
Lucknow is fast shedding its image as a tier-II city and graduating into a plausible investment ground. Popular research firms such as CRISIL have already mapped this city as one with potential.
No wonder, while on one hand, homebuyers are eying upcoming sectors of Noida for an investment, many others have realised Lucknow's calibre as the real estate capital of the state.
Investing in Lucknow
Manohar Vidhyarthi, broker at Shankar Property Venue says, "Entry costs are relatively less than what it is in big cities but Lucknow's potential is promising. If you are an investor, consider areas such as Gomti Nagar. It is a prime area with values in the range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. Rental market for spacious 2 and 3-BHK units runs at Rs 7,000-25,000 per month."
As per data with Magicbricks, one could look at areas like Gomti Nagar, Hazratganj, Mahanagar, Jankipuram, Vikas Nagar and Indira Nagar for sizeable rental returns.
This is because of proximity to job drivers which makes it easier to get constant income as rents.
Manas Singh, consultant, Mansa Property Services says, "One can see that older areas like Rajabazaar, Rajajipuram, Rakabganj became thickly-populated due to relatively low real estate values. Infrastructure herein is poor but areas like Chowk still command as much for a property as you would have to shell for an average flat in Gomti Nagar. In the older areas of Lucknow, buyers are usually more traditional. They would already have their houses here but try to expand by renovation or a second investment in the same area."
Singh further says, "The newer generation of buyers wants to keep away from crowd and thus options like Gomti Nagar open up to them. These are either end-users or pure investors. Moreover, while traditional areas have independent houses, new buyers are looking at apartments for safety and convenience. Every prospective buyer knows that if they ever need to move out of the city for work, they can always bank on their flats in such areas for regular rental returns."
Properties trending in Lucknow
"Independent houses and plots have always defined Lucknow's tehzeeb and culture. But buyers
"The fact that the rich live in bungalows have also become irrelevant in today's context. Real estate has emerged as a safe option for investment. Many wealthy buyers are opting for spacious apartments. These are either bureaucrats or those that have got transferred to the city as senior management in some corporate firm in Lucknow. This has made new age investors to invest in apartments because they realise that the city is transforming and they no longer need palatial houses to charm a potential tenant," adds Vidhyarthi.
Clearly, there seems to have been a shift.
Trend watchers feel that buyers are opting for more investment.
"If a conscious buyer has Rs 1 crore in hand, he would learn how to make two investments, one for end-use and one for rental returns," believes Nandan Pushp of Aangan Properties.
Before investing in the Lucknow market as an investor, it is advisable to check areas close to business districts, colleges to make the right investment!
