Real Estate Perspective of Chennai

Chennai has been one of the hot real estate destinations of south India. It was known as a traditional, conservative, slow moving city till a few years back. Known mostly for its port, automobile and manufacturing sector, Chennai has changed its status from a historical town to a throbbing metropolis in quick time. This turnaround has primarily been due to inroads of IT industry into the city.  Being the capital of Tamil Nadu it has always enjoyed a special status in southern India. It is the fourth largest city in India and has the third largest expatriate population.

One of the biggest contributors towards the development of Chennai has been its political stability. The population has always cast a decisive vote towards a stable setup. The ongoing election results of Tamil Nadu, giving a decisive victory to AIADMK are a testimony to this fact.

Real estate in Chennai remains a key economic driver in the state’s economy. The city has witnessed a steady growth of real estate sector, sparked by the IT boost; which has led to a heavy inflow of migratory population.

Real estate in Chennai had traditionally a requirement of warehousing, industrial houses and connected commercial space due to the presence of manufacturing and automobile sectors; these sectors also contributed towards the demand for affordable housing. With the advent of IT industry and MNCs setting up offices in Chennai the demand for office space, commercial upscale market places and mid segment and luxury residential space. As the footfall to the city has increased with the presence of MNCs the hospitality sector has also expanded, in turn giving the real estate sector further boost in Chennai.  

Residential property in Chennai traditionally was plot based, however with a surge in requirement for residential space in specific areas, the city conveniently shifted gear to multistoried construction and high rises. The city is expanding west and southwards at a very fast pace, engulfing the nearby towns and villages. The development of the RG IT Expressway, ECR, Outer Ring Road has enhanced the scope of real estate developments in Chennai.  The city traditionally has not expanded much towards the northern side. The ORR, Bypass Road, RG IT Expressway and ECR provide a linear connectivity southwards; a number of roads like inner ring road the 200 feet and 100 feet roads provide lateral connectivity. This meshed intersection of roads has led to the creation of residential pockets in the city, which provide ideal connectivity to an end user; enhancing the real estate potential of Chennai.

Property rates in Chennai have taken a setback due to the unnatural floods of 2015, which highlighted the limitations in the city planning. However, it needs to understood that it is difficult to plan a city which can withstand all kinds of natural or man-made calamities and Chennai is no exception.