Kochi: The Most Dynamic and Mature Property Market - By: Deepika B

Kochi, the second largest city in Kerala, is one of the principal seaports of the country. It is also referred as the economic capital of Kerala considering the volumes of trade. In wake of heavy investments being pumped in, it ranks among the fastest growing tier-III cities of India.

Kochi has a business economy based on its service sector, trade and retail activities. The business sectors include tourism, health services, banking, gold and textile retailing, information technology (IT), shipbuilding, seafood and spices exports and the fishing industry. The economy of Kerala is also boosted by remittances from NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) being a major source of income.

Kochi is rated as one of the most dynamic tier-III cities in India in terms of both business environment and opportunities in real estate. This emerging realty destination is rapidly transforming itself into a key IT and ITES hub while attracting many leading developers. As per the realty market maturity index by Jones Long LaSalle, Kochi leads the pack followed immediately by cities like Chandigarh, Nasik, Jaipur and Mangalore. It, therefore definitely is the hottest upcoming realty destinations in India among the smaller cities.

Besides information technology, the growth drivers for Kochi real estate are housing and infrastructure. Though tourism remains a traditional and dependable revenue earning sector, realty industry of the city is scoring high too. The boom in IT and ITeS sector is the product of various reasons out together like cheap property rates, sound communications, low labor costs and low attrition rates. Some of the bigwigs operating in Kochi include leading brands like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant Technology Solutions.

The growth in Kochi’s economy has naturally been a welcome signal for banks and insurance firms eager to serve the increasing population. Various leading banks like Citibank, HSBC, ICICI and Standard Chartered have also entered the city. Meanwhile, the all-season port that is well linked with the rest of India is undergoing modernization. Air connectivity is also excellent and it ranks among the busiest airports in India. Kochi is a pioneer in SEZs (Special Economic Zones) and is coming up with two new technology SEZs, Infopark and SmartCity, constituting the pillars of Kochi’s infrastructure.

In fact, one of the most important reasons that realty developments are moving to smaller cities from metros and tier-II cities is affordable land prices. Also, the governments of these smaller cities take various initiatives to encourage investors like creation of infrastructural facilities and SEZs. Such factors have helped largely in promoting small towns as the future big cities of India. And this is why, the investing companies ranging from pharmaceuticals to financial institutions, automobiles to IT & ITES to retail and real estate are opting for smaller cities, thereby, transforming them into fastest growing cities of the country.

Not only the residential property in Kochi is developing but mall culture is also gaining popularity at a fast pace. With mall magic all set to drive retail trends in India, even the smaller cities are all geared up to welcome retail developments. India’s largest real estate firm, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj has branded 50 Indian cities as retail hubs in the coming years. It has segregated them into 5 categories that are: maturing, transitional, high growth, emerging and nascent.
Kochi has managed to appeal to corporate honchos and will soon see operation of companies like TCS, Wipro, IBS and US Software setting up in the city. High literacy rates and large number of professional colleges in the city also promises a talented pool. The cost of living is low but the quality is high, making it the most preferred realty market.

About the Author

Deepika Bansal writes on behalf of 99acres.com, which is an internet portal dedicated to meet every aspect of the consumers needs in the real estate industry. It is a forum where buyers, sellers and brokers can exchange information. At 99 acres, you can advertise a property in India , search for a property, browse through Kochi property & other Properties.

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