Property cards and RERA to bring transparency

Lucknow

Recently the much-anticipated Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA), 2016, came into effect after both the Houses of Parliament passed the historic bill. RERA is expected to streamline the sluggish real estate sector protecting the harried buyers. Apart from RERA, property cards, being introduced by few states recently, will go a long way in protecting the rights of genuine property owners. Gujarat was amongst the first states that announced conversion of all property ownership titles to property cards. As per the government order, all property ownership records or titles are to be transferred on these 'property cards'.

Furthermore, like in other progressive states of the country, property cards can also be introduced in UP. The state can take cue from Gujarat, and introduce these cards to gain confidence and protect interest of real estate buyers in UP.

Pradeep Misra, director, Paarth Infrabuild Private Limited, says, "Property cards, in the process of being made compulsory in some states, shall bring in much required transparency in the real estate sector. Similarly, RERA will help both buyers as well as builders. It will help provide a quick remedy for homebuyers' complaints, as according to RERA regulatory authorities in states have to dispose off any case within sixty days, from the date of its filing. On the other hand, builders with shady work and bad intent will get punished immediately. So, those builders who bring bad name to real estate will be eliminated from the market."

Presently, all over the country, getting physical verification of properties done is a tedious job, and many are benami properties done through benami transactions. While these are made, transparency may come in to the land records. Property cards are being made in the form of smart cards and authorities plans to link it with Aadhaar Card.

Both, the central and state governments are working hard to curb and eradicate illegal transactions and bring transparency. SP Sharma, an advocate, informs, "RERA contains penal provisions for errant builders, appellate tribunals for adjudication of disputes, escrow account in bank, completion certificate and others provisions for regulating the sector. The state government should implement property card project."

A Rastogi, an architect, avers, "For attracting more investments, both domestic and overseas, and to provide `Housing for all by 2022', implementation of property cards and RERA are the dire need of time."

Sanjay Gupta, Times Property, The Times of India, Lucknow

Real estate property market news: FACTORS BOOSTING LUCKNOW REAL ESTATE MARKET

According to a latest report by CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services) Lucknow real estate market is going through a transitional phase where lot of activities are going on there. CRISIL has listed the realty sector of Lucknow city as one of the fastest growing real estate markets in India. The number of buyers and investors from national and international market investing in the city has also increased substantially.

Successful shifting from traditional homes to new-age high rise apartments among the modern-day buyers is one of the prime reasons for this growth. To elaborate further Lucknow’s realty market can be broadly divided into 2 main zones: Old Lucknow and New Lucknow. People in Old Lucknow prefer independent housing (for example DLF Gardencity plots) whereas New Lucknow is dominated by high rise housing solutions. Being the political capital of Uttar Pradesh the city has witnessed a great infrastructural development that gave a much needed boost to the real estate sector.

Adding more to it 3 proposed metro projects will give an additional push to Lucknow market and will help in unlocking its real potential. Talking further under-construction bridges across Gomti River, expressways connecting Lucknow to nearby cities has played a pivotal role in expanding the realty section here. Trans Gomti region especially Gomti Nagar Phase I, Phase II and Gomti Nagar Extension are the main centres of development attracting both the developers and the end users. The region not only boasts of good road network but also offer well-planned civic infrastructure and close proximity to nearby places. Sahara Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohiya Hospital are two major hospitals located in the Gomti Nagar area.

Lucknow Industrial Development Authority (LIDA) is also implying for the development of city realty market especially the Lucknow-Kanpur Road section where many new projects are coming up in near future. To sum it all Lucknow market is going to establish its mark in coming times thus it is the right time to invest here.

Why you must invest in Lucknow’s Vibhuthi Khand right now

Vibhuti Khand in Gomti Nagar is an up and coming residential and commercial locality in Lucknow.  So if you are planning on investing in real estate in Lucknow, a flat in Vibhuti Khand is highly recommended by real estate experts.

Besides being a well planned residential and business district, there is another factor which will impact the realty prices in Gomti Nagar and that is the city metro which will provide rapid transportation to many. Realtors say that once the metro connect happens prices of properties for sale in Vibhuti Khand and other areas within Gomti Nagar will shoot up. This has already happened in Delhi where connectivity by the Delhi Metro has been a major factor for rising realty prices. Umpteen surveys on the impact of rapid transportation on reality prices have also proved this point.  Crossing along an elevated route, the train coming from the airport terminal will be diverted towards Gomti Nagar, at the Indira Nagar trisection, for the Gomti Nagar Metro Link.  The stations which are being planned on this route are the Indira Nagar trisection, West End Mall, Gomti Nagar and Patrakarpuram.
Gomti Nagar is a planned locality developed by the Lucknow Development Authority with the various sectors in the locality known as “Khands”. Interestingly, all of them start with the letter V. Gomti Nagar and Gomti Nagar Extension are both well planned and stake a claim to being the largest township of its kind in India. Currently, the area has about 5 lakh residents; the population in this area, by the year 2021, is expected to be 1.3 crore. Gomti Nagar is also one of the growth corridors in Lucknow; so if you are looking for flats in Vibhuti Khand, this is as good a time as any.
A quick look at the online realty sites shows you that there are a number of properties for sale in Vibhuti Khand.  An investment into either property or flats in Vibhuti Khand is likely to pay off, because Gomti Nagar is well developed with many malls, Information Technology (IT) Parks, Special Economic Zones (SEZ), universities, multiplexes, clubs, banks, food courts and entertainment zones.
The residential colonies are almost always park facing, as the planning is based on the maximum open space concept. Besides high end residential projects, Gomti Nagar has developed as the IT hub of Lucknow. It has also gained importance as a business district since many important offices such as the Reserve Bank of India building, NABARD, Passport Office, are located here. The state and national level headquarters of the multinational company, Sony, is also located here.
The Gomti Nagar Railway station, besides the Metro, is on the Barabanki Lucknow suburban railway line. This is a great help to commuters who wish to connect to other parts of Lucknow. Currently there is a demand for housing in Lucknow, though the market is still sluggish.
According to newspaper reports, the demand for housing has been set at 30,000 units and this is likely to grow, considering the growing population of IT professionals in the city, non resident Indians (NRIs) and other upwardly mobile people.
Lucknow is the state capital and is also an education centre. The coming of the Lucknow Bypass Road and the Lucknow Kanpur Expressway will improve travel time and connectivity with Kanpur, Sitapur, Raibareli, Sultanpur and so on. The city’s infrastructure has also received a fillip with the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) under which a number of schemes have been undertaken, including the metro. This has led to developers coming in with mega projects such as townships and shopping malls.
Since Gomti Nagar has emerged both as a residential and business hub, check the papers forproperty for sale in Vibhuti Khand to see if the particular plot is earmarked for residential or commercial use. It is important to check this, otherwise the home buyer will have a lot of problems to solve before he can construct.

72 Rock Solid Real Estate Blogging Ideas With Examples

As a real estate developer who has dealt with over 2000 individual clients over the last decade, this is a question I find myself fielding frequently, and more than ever as we head into 2014. More and more agents are realizing that consistent blogging can be a huge cornerstone of an effective organic (non-paid) long term Search Engine Optimization strategy for their real estate websites.

When going through this list, make sure that you establish what your goals are with your real estate blog. Do you want your website to be a complete buyer and seller resource? Do you want to focus on local events?

Ideally you should experiment with a little of everything and let your analytics dictate what you focus on. Always make sure that your overarching objective is to provide ‘value.’ Please don’t be the guy that writes an article with all keywords and no substance.

Without further adieu, below you will find a list of some of best real estate topics you should be blogging about, separated into popular categories. Generally speaking we’ve tried to put what we feel is the best stuff in each list towards the top. Enjoy!

Your Local Market

1.   Local Events in your Area – Good way to stay up to date to this is to find websites in your area (Local Events Sites, Local Newspaper sites etc) and sign up for updates. This way when there’s an event, you can blog about it.

2.   Events you’ve attended in the area

3.   Community Events- Think Festivals or other events that tend to bring the community together

4.   Write about a local business (Restaurant or other). If you’re writing about a business that has a website, let them know so that they can link back to you!

5.   Housing Trends: Are home sales up or down? Is now a good time to buy? How are mortgage ratesaffecting buying?

6.   Have any celebrities recently bought or sold in the area?

7.   Luxury Properties – Put together a list of some of the most expensive properties currently for sale in your market, and don’t be afraid that you’d be happy to show said properties!

8.   Cheap Properties – Put together a list of the cheapest properties in your market.

9.   Best Valued Properties – Put together a list of some of the properties you think are valued the best.

10.       Property Taxes – What can I expect in certain areas?

11.       Schools – How are the schools in your area performing. Any recent news about a particular school? Anything someone considering a home in a particular neighborhood would want to know? How about creating a list or linking to a report or article ranking the best schools in your areas?

12.       Job Opportunities – Did a big company just open a factory in your area? What are some good job opportunities?

13.       Transportation – Do you service an area with a lot of commuters? If I’m looking for a property with easy access to a bus or railroad, what are my best bets? How long are commute times from these areas?

14.       Politics – What are some hotly debated issues in your market? Be careful with this one!

15.       HOA’s – What is a HOA? What are the benefits?

16.       Crime – What are some of the local crime rates? Have those gone up or down? What are some safer neighborhoods?

Local Market Points of Interest and Activities

1.   Restaurants – Where can you get the best bang for your buck? Who has the best burgers? What are some healthy eating options?

2.   Parks – Create a list of some of the best parks in your area and include some photos

3.   Golf- This could potentially be a huge topic for you if you specialize in Golf Homes. Where are the best courses? What are the best Golf Course communities?

4.   Nightlife and Entertainment – Where’s the best place to get a drink after work? Where can I go if I feel the need to salsa?

5.   Coffee – Coffee lovers unite! Where can I find the best or most unique cup of joe in the area?

6.   Local Getaways & Day Trips – Where can I go if I need to just get away, but not too far away?

Your Target Audience (buyers, sellers, investors etc)

1.   Write To Your Target– Write an article addressing the concerns of newlyweds, first time home owners, retirees, seniors, new parents looking for a home in a good school district, etc etc.

2.   Buyer Questions – Think about how many questions you get over the course of the year. Not only is this a great topic to blog about, but think about how professional it is when you can answer those questions and follow up with an email to a link to this article on your website!

3.   Seller Questions – Same schpiel as above

4.   Investor Questions – Any advice for investors? Are there any specific neighborhoods you’d recommend for potential future value thanks to planned improvements in infrastructure or other?

5.   Relocation Questions – What are some considerations I should make if I’m considering relocating to the area?

6.   Foreclosures – What is a foreclosure property? Should I be targeting one for my new purchase?

7.   Other Professionals in Related Industries – Had a good experience with a Mortgage Specialist? Why not blog about the experience or the individual?

8.   New Construction – Advice for going this route?

9.   Relocation Resource List – Put together a list of resources people looking to relocate can access. This also doubles as a great resource to email to a potential relocation buyer who has contacted you.

10.       Why is it important to work with a real estate professional, such as yourself?

11.       Activities for Kids – What are some great libraries, public swimming pools, or summer camps that kids can participate in?

12.       Pets – What are some tips when moving with pets? Where can I bring Fido if I want to go on vacation? Where are there some good dog parks? Who are some good vets?

13.       FSBO – What’s some advice to for sale by owners? Why, at the very end of this article, should I probably work with a trained real estate

14.       Rent or Buy? – What are the benefits for renting as opposed to buying. Why should I rent if I think the housing market is in for a nosedive?

Health & Lifestyle

1.   Eating- Where are some healthy places I can eat?

2.   Gyms- What are some of the best gyms? Are there any Crossfit or personal training gyms? What about if I want to practice Yoga?

3.   Skill Training – Where can I go to learn martial arts?

4.   Group Training – Are there any local bicycle clubs? Where can I go to join a swim team?

5.   Activities – What are some of the best places to hike? What about bike trails?

6.   Sporting Goods – Where can I load up on sporting gear?

Related Real Estate Industries

1.   Mortgage – Where can I get good financing on a mortgage. Have you worked with a mortgage specialist in the past and had a good experience with them?- Blog about it!

2.   Other Real Estate Service Providers – Who are some title companies or inspectors you would recommend?

3.   Real Estate Agents in other Markets – Do you focus on a particular market but periodically get leads from individuals a little too far? Write a blog post about other agents you recommend from those markets.

4.   Real Estate Agent Specialities – Do you only want to focus on properties that are $1M plus? Maybe you’re a condo specialist? Write an article about other real estate agents who you would recommend for the target audiences you don’t want to service.

5.   Home Decor – Have you worked with any interior decorators? Recommend them and include some photos of work they’ve done on a particular project for you.

6.   Qualifying for a Loan – What do I need to qualify? What can I do if my credit sucks?

7.   Refinancing – When should I refinance?

Home Features

1.   Pools – Which home has the best pool on the market?

2.   Views – Are there any properties that have killer views?

3.   Unique Features – Did a property just come on the market that has a helipad AND a stables? Is there a property with a secret passage way?

Yourself

1.   Why should I work with you? – After you write this article, make sure to include a link to it somewhere on your ‘about’ page

2.   Testimonials – Why not write something about a recent transaction you had, including a testimonial from the happy customers

3.   What do you love about the area?

4.   What do you love about your job?

5.   How you work – Is there a particular ritual you find that you can’t live without. Do you have any shortcuts or software that you use that makes you more efficient and saves you a load of time? I’d like to hear about it!

6.   Staff – Do you have an assistant or someone else that works for you that does a great job?

7.   Clients – Interview your clients. Ask them what some of their favorite things are about the neighborhood you just sold them a home in. What did they wish they had known before they bought their first home?

8.   Marketing – How do you market your properties? What makes you unique?

9.   Track Record – If you’ve sold a lot of homes or gained notoriety and awards in a particular area or specialization, why not brag about it a bit?

Home Maintenance

1.   Renovations – Do you recommend anyone for home renovations? What are the most important things I can renovate in terms of adding value to my home for resale? What are some of the worst things people renovate thinking it will bring added home value?

2.   Staging – What are some of the most important things I should know when staging my home?

3.   Landscaping

4.   Decorating – What are some good decorating tips? Any websites that you can recommend?

5.   The most common pitfalls of buying or selling a home and how to avoid them

The Future

1.   Predictions- Where do you see things going in 10 years?

2.   Technology – How is technology affecting real estate?

3.   Reverse Mortgages – How can a reverse mortgage allow me to retire? Maybe you can find a mortgage specialist to ‘guest post’ this article for you.

Your Listings

1.   New Listings – Make sure to include photos

2.   Open Houses – When and where?

3.   Price Reductions

Have any other great ideas for topics to blog about that we missed? Feel free to sound off in the comments below!

Lucknow airports win ‘Best Airport in the World’ awards

Airports in Jaipur and Lucknow which are managed by the Airports Authority of India, have won the first and second place of the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards in the category of 2 to 5 million passengers per annum.

The ASQ awards, organised by the Montreal-based Airports Council International, are the result of more than 55,000 in-depth passenger satisfactions surveys carried out last year at more than 300 airports across 80 countries.

“It’s a pride moment that we have received Airports Council International’s best airport award in Asia Pacific and the region. We are top in the world. We have taken care of all facilities related to passengers and workers. We have maintained high quality at arrival and departure areas,” said B. K. Tailang, Airport director, Jaipur.

“The present position of having been declared as world’s number two airport in the category of 2-5 million passengers has been possible because of cooperation of everybody. We have tried to add more facilities, basically shopping facilities, beautification and good ambience. The passenger facilitation activities like helping them in the checking process and then expediting the security clearance, everything has been taken care of,” said Suresh Chandra Hota, Airport director, Lucknow.

Further, Jaipur Airport has also been rated as the best airport by “Regions and Size” in the Asia Pacific region in the category of 2-5 million passengers per annum.

The Goa and Trivandrum airports are at 4th and 5th positions in the same category.

In the category of Airports upto 2 million passengers per annum, Airports Authority of India’s Srinagar Airport has been rated as the second best airport in the World.

“This is really a great achievement. We have been working very hard to improve the customer facilities. Difference facilities available at the terminal as well as the city sight and the facilities given to the different airlines who are operating from different terminals. Our people have worked very hard and they have brought this laurel to the Airport authority to India,” said R.K. Srivastava, Chairman, Airports Authority of India.

Airports Authority of India owns and maintains 125 airports comprising 95 operational airports in the country.

Efforts are high to improve infrastructure and facilities at all airports with the next expansion phase covering airports at Agartala, Guwahati, Chennai, Pune, Leh, Trichy, Ahmedabad and Patna.

“At present, only 11 airports are judged on 34 parameters and it is heartening to tell you and all our 11 airports have been ranked higher than the world average of 4:3 in the scale of 5, so this way the improvements are coming. We expect when the number of airports increases in this parameter so all other airports will qualify and become the best,” Srivastava added.

The Airports Authority of India wants its airports to be commercially viable by attracting air travellers to shop, relax and use the best available facilities.

“Our services will improve. Earlier, we used to plan retail and commercial planning after the construction of a building. Now, we are planning it in advance so have commercial space in the building that the passenger gets attracted with retail and food and beverages items. It will help increase the spending per passenger at the airport. It will also increase our revenue and airport will become self sustained,” said S. Raheja, Member (Planning), AAI.

The airport infrastructure, loaded with world-class facilities, is developing in the country as the demand is rising with more people travelling through domestic and international airports.

Here’s how GST will impact the real estate sector in India?

GST, which has been one of the longest awaited tax reforms, got unanimous approval of both houses of parliament this monsoon session. Union government of India has set a deadline of April 2017 for its roll out. As of now 3 states have already ratified the bill and others will quickly follow. How it might impact taxes in residential real estate transactions has got varied views of industry experts. Through this article we will try to detail out the issues involved to give a better understanding of these varied views.

Lets first understand the various taxes applicable in a residential real estate transaction.

1.     Service Tax – If you are purchasing an under-construction property, developer will have to charge you service tax and deposit it with central government. This tax was not applicable till 1st July 2010. The key reason for the same was contract between builder and buyer for construction of residential unit was disputed as works contract as it also includes value of land. Hence rules regarding taxes on work contract was not applicable on residential complex construction. In finance act 2010, government added an explanation to definition of construction of residential complex and made it deemed service. For the simplicity sake government has given abatement of 3/4th of cost of unit as land and goods for construction and only 1/4th of the cost of unit is treated as service. Hence presently most homebuyers are paying 3.75% of cost of unit as service tax (1/4th of 15%). Recently service tax on under construction property has again been put under question as Delhi High Court ruled against this and matter is sub-judice at Supreme Court of India.

2. VAT (Value Added Tax) – If you are purchasing an under-construction property, you will have to pay additional VAT in some states such as Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra. Developers charge this value added tax and deposit it with state government. VAT has also been under dispute for long time and still there are many states such as UP who do not charge VAT. Also unlike service tax there is no uniform way of computing VAT across states. E.g. in Maharashtra under composition scheme VAT is charged as 1% of agreement value whereas in Haryana the same proposal was passed but not yet agreed by developers. In Karnataka VAT is charged at 5% of agreement value of unit. To calculate accurate value of VAT and not use composition scheme, developers will have to maintain proper accounts of goods purchased for construction and VAT paid by them for the same to get input credits which is cumbersome and makes it tough for buyers to understand.

3. Stamp Duty – Stamp duty is charged by state government, again at varying rates, for registration of sale agreement for real estate transactions.

Incidentally if you are buying a ready to move-in property directly from developer after he has obtained completion certificate from authority, you don’t need to pay service tax and VAT hence saving 3.75% to 9% of property cost depending on state where you are buying property.

Now lets understand how GST will impact these three taxes. Service Tax and VAT will be replaced by Central GST and State GST whereas stamp duty stay unchanged as it is out of purview of GST.

There are two open items because of which at present it is difficult to predict accurately the impact of GST on real estate transactions. One is the GST rate and second is abatement for land value in total agreement value of under construction residential unit. Let me take assumptions on these two items to estimate impact of GST. These assumptions might be off but has a high probability of being true as well. GST rate might be set at 18% as many experts back this rate and abatement of land might be only 25% of agreement value as 50% is assumed to be cost of goods and remaining 25% as cost of service. Based on these assumptions the effective GST on under construction property transaction will be 13.5% (3/4th of 18%). Now this rate is significantly high compared to 3.75% – 9% currently being paid. Hence we can assume cost of buying under-construction property will significantly increase after GST becomes applicable from 1st April 2017.

But this might not be true. Currently developers pay service tax and VAT on services and goods they procure for construction of residential complex but are not allowed to take input credits of this tax because of which end customer pays tax on tax. As per estimates given by developer community this tax on tax adds up to 20 – 25% of the cost of residential unit. Hence if GST is implemented and developers are allowed to take free credits of input tax paid, the cost of unit should reduce by 20% at least. To understand this better lets take an example, a residential apartment which is sold at Rs 100 today finally cost end customer 103.75 in Uttar Pradesh excluding stamp and registration duty. If post GST price of unit is reduced by 20% i.e., it becomes Rs 80 then final cost to end customer will be 80 + (13.5% of 80) i.e., Rs 90.8 which is much less than Rs 103.75. So in fact if developers pass the benefit, which they will get from GST, cost to end customer actually will reduce.

But it is easier said than done. First of all current under construction projects are at different stages of construction and developers would have already paid service tax and VAT for procurement of goods and services for which they will not get input credit. Hence cost reduction will be lesser than 20% for current under construction project. Second model GST law clearly mentions input credit will not be available for goods and services purchased for execution of work contracts. Presently we have seen two different interpretations by courts of whether construction of residential complex is a work contract or not. If it is treated as a work contract cost of developer will not reduce at all after GST implementation. Another issue which needs to be kept in mind is, presently government does not allow input credit if the composition scheme (i.e., abatements for cost of land and goods) is used by developers for calculating service tax and VAT.

Therefore at present, we are more likely to believe that cost of under construction residential unit will increase post GST implementation. This will be a hefty blow to industry, which is already suffering from slow sales. Industry bodies need to urgently engage with government to minimize this impact by clarifying position on works contract, composition scheme and already paid service tax and VAT by developers on under construction property.

Top tips for a smart investor

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

are drifting towards a transition. Most young investors do not wish to wait till a layout develops in about four to five years and therefore plotted developments are losing its charm. Tenants also prefer apartments to independent houses because of the safety factor," notes Vidhyarthi.

"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!