What the information technology and IT-enabled sector did for the southern suburbs of Chennai in driving demand for real estate, it seems to be doing for Coimbatore.

The establishment of IT infrastructure facilities by prominent players including Bosch, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTS), Spheris, Perot Systems, KGISL (SEZ) to name a few, has fuelled the demand for apartment complexes in the Saravanampatti-belt a few kilometres from Gandhipuram, a major commercial hub.

Prior to the real estate rush the area is home to some of the well known educational institutions such as Kumaraguru College of Technology and for a long stretch the Coimbatore-Mysore road was dotted with industries, creating interest in real estate investment primarily individual home construction.

New launches

What has given an impetus to organised real estate development now is the entry of major IT/ITES players in the area.

In the last few weeks itself, a flurry of new launches of construction of apartments/villas in the area by Shriram Properties, Ramani Realtors Pvt Ltd, Cordon Bleu Properties and Infrastructures Pvt Ltd were made adding to the projects of developers such as Sreevatsa Real Estates Pvt Ltd, Martin Property Developers and the Sahara Group.

According to industry estimates, the number of apartments under construction/ announced in the area could be around 3,000 making it one of the most happening places for the realty in the city.

That these projects have elicited keen buyer interest at a time when the spectre of interest rate hike by lending institutions looms large and the real estate prices seem to have gone beyond the reach of many only reinforces the belief among the buyers about the wisdom of their choice.

Mr V. Subramanian, Executive Director, Ramani Realtors Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore and President, Coimbatore unit of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (CREDAI), who has been implementing projects in Saravanampatti since 2006, said while his first apartment project in the area was priced around Rs 1,500 a sq.ft, his latest offering is priced around Rs 2,500. He estimated that there were at least 10-12 builders who are executing projects in the area .

It is ‘one of the most happening places' for developers in the city and estimated that around 3,000 apartments are in the pipeline. The presence of educational institutions , availability of water and the proximity to the city were positive factors for the projects there.

Investment hotspot

Referring to the infrastructure improvements in Coimbatore, Mr Subramanian said these would only make commuting easy. As apartments would be available for Rs 30-32 lakh onwards, Saravanampatti is emerging as one of the hotspots for investment.

Mr V. Senthilkumar, Managing Director, Cordon Bleu Properties & Infrastructures Pvt Ltd, which has just launched a high-end 385-home project in the area priced at Rs 3,500 a sq.ft said the buyer interest could be gauged from the fact that nearly 70 per cent of the apartments in the first phase have been booked.

He explained that even earlier Saravanampatti was a preferred destination with many educational and healthcare institutions.

Several IT/ITES companies have established their facilities including CTS, Bosch, KGISL etc employing a large young workforce with high disposable salary.

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