Vadodara lags in residential rate race

Sudhakar Rao / TNN / Nov 1, 2005, 20:38 IST

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Developers says low prices reflect poor infrastructure of the city.

VADODARA: Given the boom in Gujarat's real estate sector and the growing affluence of its urban middleclass, one would expect the prices of residential properties to be northbound in Vadodara. After all, prices of residential real estate have already sky-rocketed in Ahmedabad and Surat.
Even a small town like Rajkot has seen an appreciation in prices in some areas.But the Banyan City seems to have been left out in this rate-race. Prices in Alkapuri �� the city's most precious residential real estate �� fluctuate in the band of Rs 800 and 1,200 per sq ft.
Even Kalavad in Rajkot is more expensive. This may please prospective buyers but developers say that the low prices may point out disturbing facts about the city �� that Vadodara is not growing and lacks requisite civic infrastructure. Sources in the real estate sector say that there are more than 20,000 houses in prime locations lying vacant.
"The cost of a house depends on its location and surrounding civic amenities, to a great extent," says Parthesh Parikh of Krishna Developers. "There are many areas in the city which lack such facilities," he added.

"The city's infrastructure has not developed the way it should have and with no new projects being announced by the civic authorities the situation is likely to remain the same. Also there is no political will to develop the city," says Sachin Shroff of Comfort Realty.
Vadodara's sparse civic infrastructure was exposed in the last monsoon when even posh areas were not spared of water-logging. Residents in Alkapuri, Ellora Park, Old-Padra Road, Karelibaug and Sama had to wade through knee-deep water for days together.

Even after the floods receded, many areas remained in water due to lack of proper drainage. Add to this bad roads, inconsistent water supply, poor drainage system and lack of other basic amenities and you understand the logic behind residential rates not spiking.
Says Chaital Bhatt of Somnath Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, "Preferences have changed. 10 years back customers looked for good interiors but now they want better surroundings." Shroff says, "Even the population of the city has not seen much mobility over the years due to its skewed employment opportunities."
According to the census figures, the population of the city has grown from 10 lakh in 1991 to around 13 lakh in 2001. The city has a population growth rate of 1.20 per cent, as compared to 1.22 per cent in Ahmedabad, 1.26 per cent in Surat and 1.73 per cent in Rajkot.
The inflow of migrant population has ceased due to lack of business and employment opportunities. "Estate price in other cities have skyrocketed due to their surplus economy, as migrant population coming to the city in search of job contribute to the economy," says Arvind Shah, a real estate owner in Ahmedabad.

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