With many high rise buildings with at least 10 floors coming up in Chennai, here is what most renters prefer.
Ground floor – Preferred by families with kids. If you are buying a flat which is nearby a schools, go with the ground floor, finding tenants will be easy. If renters have toddlers or babies, they prefer ground floor.
1st and 2nd floor – All round winners. You cannot go wrong with these floors as everybody likes them.
3rd floor and up – Good for young families without kids or families with older kids. Not so good for older people. The biggest question that comes up is ‘what if the elevators don’t work because of power cuts or other reasons?’. Unfortunately, back up generators don’t work some times. In the past month alone we have had to show a house on the 6th floor in a well reputed building where elevators were not working because back up generator failed. The tenant had to climb 6 floors to take a look at the flat. While this is not common, it does happen.
Top most floor – Not preferred by most renters because of heat issues. Builders have started to address this problem by throwing in free false ceiling throughout the house for home buyers.
So, in order of preference, most sought after flats are 1st and 2nd floor, ground floor, 3rd floor and up, top most floor. But there are always exceptions… for example, when you have a sea view, the higher the floor the more premium you pay to live there.
Dtcp approved plot very near VGN Brixton, opposite to Hyundai factory and stone throw away from Maharishi vidya mandir school. Plot is 2400 sq. ft. on a 30ft wide road. Priced at 15 lakhs.
Ideal investment property in Sri Perambudur with clean documents and lawyer approval. It has large potential for price appreciation since sri perambudur is the new and upcoming industrial hub in Chennai. For the price of a flat at VGN Brixton, you could buy this plot and build a dream home overlooking the apartments and live in walking distance to Maharishi Vidya Mandir school.
Call 9962612255 for details.
While property prices keep going up in OMR, rental of certain type of homes is not catching up because of huge supply.
6 to 8 months ago, apartment prices in Sholinganallur was around 4000 to 4200 per SF, today it is hovering around 5000 per SF. Similarly, another of our favorite location, Medavakkam, has seen prices go up from 3600 per SF to 4500 per SF in the last one year.
Plenty of builders are creating a huge supply of homes in OMR, which puts pressure on rental rates. 2BHKs are able to hold their rent quite well because of their demand since most renters are usually young and have smaller families, so they prefer a 2BHK. But 3BHKs are having to drop their rent significantly to get renters. In many complex, the rental difference between 2 and 3BHKs is just 1k. This situation will change, but only when the supply/demand situation reverses.
National Housing Bank, a unit of Reserve Bank of India, which tracks housing prices in major cities has cited that there was a 2.8% increase in housing prices in the 1st quarter of 2012 (Jan to Mar) compared to the previous quarter (Oct – Dec 2011)
http://nhb.org.in/Events/Events.php#residexmay2012
Chennai also ranks no. 1 in price appreciation since 2007, the date when National Housing Bank started tracking housing prices in major cities.
Located in a posh locality, with quick access to OMR and other parts of the city, this home is ideally sized for a family with kids.
Key highlights of the property
- 1650 Sq. Ft., 1st floor of an Independent home
- Pollution free as it is tucked slightly away from the main road
- Walkable to public transportation
- Many shops in walkable distance
- Modular kitchen
- Wardrobes
- A/C
- CCP
Chennai high court stays the recent police order that requires home owners to register their tenant information, based on a public interest petition.
The opposition argued that this is in violation of a constitutional right that an Indian can reside in any part of India. It also offends the right to privacy and the right to dignity of people residing in rental homes.
Hearing will be held after the court reconvenes post court summer holidays.
Affordable housing in Kelambakkam, very near Siruseri, the IT hub of Chennai. This 800 SF apartment is located opposite to Emerald Engg. on Kelambakkam-Vandalur road, which is 1.5 km from Kelambakkam junction.
With affordable rent and low maintenance fee, this home offers a lot of value for the renter.
Other hightlights of this property are… CCP, 3km from Hindustan College, ample panchayat and ground water, near chettinad hospital.
Call 9962612255 for a visit
Do not be surprised if your apartment maintenance association increases the maintenance charges a bit. Beginning April 1st, 2012, common areas/facilities within complexes is to come under commerical tariff. This means electricity usage for gym, pool, water treatment plant, motor, etc. is to be categorized as commerical usage. Commerical tariff is based on usage as well. The first 200 units is Rs. 4.25, anything beyond 200 units is Rs.7 per unit.
Gone are the days when large apartment complexes with pools, gym, greenery, club house, etc. can maintain the complex with just Rs.2 per SF. It is not just because of increase in cost of electricity, but also due to artificially keeping the maintenance cost low to easily sell these flats.
The finance minister threw a wrench in the works for real estate by
1. Increasing service tax by 2%
Due to this increase, the corresponding increase in home price is expected to be around 0.5%
2. Introducing TDS of 1% on transfer of immovable property
TDS hits you when the value of property that is transacted goes beyond a threshold of 50 lakhs in urban areas and 20 lakhs in rural.
Guess who the builders are going to transfer the increased cost to…
