Kochi Real Estate Scenario

Kochi as the nerve centre of the southern state of Kerala has been riveting the attention of both property developers and homebuyers recently. There has been a perceptible shift in trend among homebuyers from the days of compelling necessity, to buying homes for self-occupation, to the analysis of multiple options for viable avenue for investment. The Kerala Builders Forum boasts of 28 builders who have agreed to follow a common code of ethics. Property buyers are not unduly worried over the new entrants to the market as they feel the demand is also equally on the growth path. The home loan market in and around Kochi has been estimated at Rs. 50 crore plus every month with the market dominated by ICICI Bank followed by HDFC, State Bank of Travancore and others.

In a swift move to support the sector, the government has been quick to reduce the approval time for building plans from 7 months to just 2 months. This has been widely welcomed by the property developers. The state government is marshalling efforts to support the requisite infrastructure needed for the city. The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) has sold land and generated Rs. 350 crore and with margin money plans to raise additional resources from the lending institutions to fund infrastructure development in and around the city. Incidentally water supply project has already been taken care of by the Japanese management team. On the flip is the exorbitant stamp duty that is eluding the policy makers.

The demand for
Cochin Apartments has been quite strong as the number of new entrants to the sector and the projects under implementation are on indication.