Home prices at Gujarat’s GIFT City up by 30% in 18 months, to double in five years: Experts

Source: Indian Express

As the prestigious GIFT City project gathers steam, real-estate developers and experts say the prices of residential units are expected to double in the next five years. Meanwhile, the cost of homes inside GIFT City has already seen a 30 per cent rise over the past 18 months.

Ahmedabad-based Shivalik Group, which has sold 80 per cent of its residential projects in GIFT City, says it is currently selling homes at Rs 7,500 per square feet. “When we launched the project about one-and-a-half years ago, we were selling at Rs 5,500 per square feet,” said Managing Director Taral Shah. The Rs 420-crore project has homes in 2 BHK (Rs 1.2 crore) and 3BHK (Rs 2 crore) specifications having a “super built-up” area of 1,600 square feet and 2,686 square feet respectively.

The real-estate group is now planning to launch its second project. According to Shah, the GIFT City project would essentially be a “leasing market” as far as residential spaces are concerned. “We are selling at a fixed price and there are no hidden charges. A majority of those purchasing residences here are investors who are either NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) or are from Mumbai or South India. Going forward, those who work in GIFT City are largely expected to lease these homes,” said Shah.

Realtors feel that the residential prices will skyrocket by 100 per cent in the next five years. “Currently, the residential building is being sold for over Rs 7,500 per square feet. We are also charging a premium for higher floors. This price is going to double in the next five years when more infrastructure gets added to the GIFT City project,” Yash Brahmbhatt, founder of Shilp Group, had told The Indian Express earlier this month. Currently, Shilp is the biggest developer in GIFT City in terms of the area being developed.

“Almost 50 per cent of the residential projects launched have been sold,” he added.

GIFT City has attracted 10 real-estate developers for initially building 4,103 houses as part of the project. The developers, including Savvy ATS Realty, Shivalik LLP, Shilp Infraspaces LLP, Bakeri Residences LLP, and Bhandari and Sangath Builders LLP are building house in the SEZ area of GIFT City, while Sobha Ltd, Sangath IPL, Nila Spaces, Kaavyaratna LLP and State Bank of India (housing project for its own employees) are constructing in the Domestic Tariff Area.

Ahmedabad Realtors Association president Pravin Bavadiya points out that the percentage of investors who have parked money in housing projects is as high as 85 per cent. “Unlike a conventional residential project where the number of investors is usually less than a quarter, in the housing projects launched in GIFT City, the number of investors is as high as 85 per cent. The houses being built as part of the project have been a huge attraction for NRIs who have parked a sizeable amount of money into the housing projects,” said Bavadiya, who is also the owner of City Estate Management — one of the largest real-estate broking firms.

“The prices of real-estate in GIFT City, which stood at Rs 5,000 per square feet a couple of years ago, have now risen to over Rs 7,500 and it is just a matter of time when it crosses Rs 10,000 per square feet. There is a lot of demand for these houses from outside Gujarat, especially from centres like Delhi and Mumbai,” he added.