What Is Up With Delhi Real Estate?
It would be like a dream come true for many of us if we could, somehow, manage to have a permanent address a house in the national capital. Considering property in Delhi is neither affordable nor young enough to charm buyers with newness (at least in areas where one would like to have a house) , there has not been much activity in the capital's real estate market in the past few years. That is not to say incessant changes are not taking place here.
Let us look at some of the key changes that would impact property markets of the city to a great extent.
Prices have been going down
There is no denying the fact that property in the national capital is hardly affordable ─ in a “decent” locality, you will have to pay at least Rs 60 lakh for a 1BHK apartment. However, this does not mean prices have been seen any upwards movement in the past five years. Data available with the National Housing Board show when compared to the levels in 2013, property has become cheaper in Delhi. According to the NHB, average property prices in Delhi stood at Rs 10,690 in the first quarter of the financial year 2012-13. From thereon, the fall in prices has been consistent, except the sporadic upward movement witnessed during some quarters. In Q1 FY17, average prices came down to Rs 9,886 per sqft.
In short, property is more affordable in Delhi today than it was in 2013.
Master Plan in the making
The guiding philosophy of Delhi's Master Plan 2021 may have been flawed on some accounts. The Master Plan spoke of redevelopment that involved displacing people which, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) now realises, is “not an option”. With a view to change the guiding philosophy of development, the DDA has teamed up with the National Institute of Urban Affairs to prepare the Master Plan 2041. The need to make changes in planning is also important because things are changing at a fast pace in the national capital. “Due to large-scale migration, several areas in Delhi have developed in an unplanned manner. Deficiency of services was not met by zonal control of development. Additionally, technology has shrunk space, so people's space needs have changed,” a senior DDA official was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.
The dangerous spread
As has been acknowledged by the DDA, unplanned constructions have mushroomed across the length and breadth of the city. The Delhi High Court (HC) finds it to be a dangerous predicament. While reprimanding all three municipal bodies of the city, the HC observed that “Delhi is such a dangerous city now because of unauthorised constructions”, adding, "under the shield of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, amended from time to time, completely illegal and rampant unauthorised constructions were going on".
Up in the air
Delhi is also notorious for its dirty air — it is among those cities in the world where the air is the most polluted. Being here is, as the Delhi HC earlier put it, equal to living in a gas chamber. What is worse? In the absence of a property tracking mechanism, it has also been difficult to gauge the seriousness of the situation. There have only been 28 air pollution monitoring stations across the city so far.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation: “The correct way to know one index for a city air quality is to consider different micro-environments… For a typical metro city, commercial; urban complex; sub-urban; residential; industrial; road side; traffic junction are the micro-environments which should be covered in the monitoring network.”
We may be able to get a clearer picture now as the Delhi Pollution Control Board is planning to set another 20 monitoring stations by Diwali of this year.
Larger than life
Among the many other things that are unique to Delhi are the spacious bungalows dotted across Lutyen's Delhi. The architectural beauty of the area may just get better when the Central Public Works Department constructs 264 spacious bungalows for the members of Parliament in North and South Avenues. While 144 of these would be at the North Avenue, 120 bungalows would be built in the South Avenue. “The architecture has been designed keeping in mind its proximity to Rashtrapati Bhawan. The façade of the bungalows will have a heritage look,” CPWD officials told media.