Studio apartments better Tricity landscape

CHANDIGARH: A city that is synonymous with buildings designed by Le Corbusier besides other aesthetically-designed structures based on the owner's personal taste is slowly opening up to houses constructed in conformity with the practical needs of the day.
After being a much sought-after option in metro cities, the concept of furnished studio or service apartments has seen a surge among the young professionals, NRIs and big companies.They prefer one-two bedroom independent flats for converting these into own homes, transit homes and guest-houses. These apartments are available at affordable prices that range from Rs 12-15 lakh and go up to Rs 18-20 lakh, depending on the choice of the floor.
City-based real estate agent Harinder Gill said, 'Demand of studio and service apartments, which caters to single employees, is directly related to industrial and commercial growth. The region is being seen as the next IT hub. Hence, developers are expecting a similar demand here as witnessed in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Delhi,' insisted Gill.
Gill further said, 'This demand has been fuelled by the migratory population. Young single professionals and students from nearby areas of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and even Delhi commune to Chandigarh. They opt for small, cozy homes that are easy on budget and have low maintenance costs.'
A general manager of a private builders' group, Atul Sharma, who is raising 133 one-bedroom furnished studio apartments at Kharar in Mohali, said, 'Barring eight flats, the rest have been sold out. Except a television set, we are providing every other essential housing item to facilitate our buyers, who have to shell out Rs 15.5 lakh.'
New settlements in peripheral areas like Zirakpur, Mohali, Mani Majra and others are all the rage. Most of the customers are young professionals, NRIs and big industrial and corporate houses from Delhi, Gurgaon and other places who like to use these small accommodations as a transit home for themselves or their guests.