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CHENNAI
REAL ESTATE - AN OVERVIEW
Chennaibest.com speaks to Sanjay and Sunil
Nichani, of Sanjay & Sunil Property Consultants and
Estate Agents on the current trends in Chennai Real estate.
Chennai seems unaffected by surges or slumps
in the real estate market in other cities. Why is that?
 It
is just that people in Chennai are conservative and more realistic.
Just because real estate prices are going up somewhere else they
will not go on a land-grabbing spree. They demand value for money.
Its usually found that it is the 40-plus group that makes decisions
related to property, and their spending habits are still very conservative.
What are the factors that affect price in
real estate in Chennai?
Reputation of the builder and quality. Reputation of the builder
is most important, because people want their projects to be completed
on time. The software boom and coming of the expats has affected
real estate prices in a major way. The Government is promoting the
area between Tidel Park and Kelambakkam as the software
corridor. As a result, real estate prices have doubled in that area.
Prices are going up in South Chennai, because, that is the most
preferred locality among expats.
So the coming of the MNCs and the software
boom has affected this market?
Absolutely, this market is purely MNC and software-driven. They
are the main drivers of this boom.
 What
is the current scenario in Chennai for commercial, residential for
both rental and purchase?
The correct time to buy is now. The market is at a take-off stage.
Interest rates are at a 20 year low. HDFC has come out with
some very good schemes for home finance, at very good interest rates.
I think its around 9%.
Which are the most preferred locations, both
residential and commercial?
For residential, the preferred localities are Boat Club area, Kotturpuram,
Greenways Road, Poes Garden, Nungambakkam, Harrington Road, Besant
Nagar and Adyar, in that order.
For commercial, the popular areas are Radhakrishnan Salai, Nungambakkam,
Alwarpet, Guindy, Sardar Patel Road, some parts of Anna Salai (Mount
Road). Guindy is coming up in a major way because of proximity to
the airport, because of the software corridor down that road and
because some good hotels have come up in that area.
How would you evaluate the customer orientation
of the finance schemes available today?
 HDFC,
SBI Home Finance and LIC Housing have got the mass
market. They have some very good schemes.
Which are the most happening places now, where
is the real estate market focusing attention on?
In the next four or five years, the Nilankarai area is going to
be developed as prime residential property.
As a member of the real estate community,
what do you feel Chennai has going for it and what works against it?
 Again
the software boom and the coming of the MNCs has proven advantageous.
But what is the reason so many companies are coming in to Chennai?
Most companies feel that Chennai has excellent manpower on offer,
particularly in the software industry. They are better than those
in Hyderabad and Bangalore. And most people feel that Chennaites
still retain some old world virtues, like loyalty. Even in the software
industry, people will not jump just like that. They stay on in a
company for a longer period of time. Another thing is accessibility
and availability. In Chennai real estate is easily available.
What works against Chennai is clearly its infrastructure. It has
improved over the years, but still a lot needs to be done in this
area.
How different is the real estate scene abroad?
The Indian real estate market is not a mature market. It is still
in a fledgling stage, when it comes to regulations. The markets
abroad are well developed and structured due to stringent real estate
laws. There, no agent can deal in property unless or until he has
the licence. The Indian market is totally unstructured in that sense.
Anybody can deal in property, there is no licencing system.
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3:58:32 AM 
