Bangalore is charming. Bangalore is multi cultural with loads of heritage and yet, Bangalore is trendy, yuppie and hip. Bangalore is sedate and calm if you want it to be. Bangalore is also the seat of the software moghuls of India.

In a move to decongest real estate Bangalore, the Karnataka Government has decided to establish five satellite townships and link them with a ring road and an intermediate ring road. More precisely, this growth has been a direct result of the boom in the IT and ITES sector in Bangalore.

Bangalore is the capital of the southern state of Karnataka and presentlyAsia's fastest growing cosmopolitan city. The city is also known as the Silicon Valley of India as it exports 35 percent of software across the world. The city is home to renowned educational and research institutions, most high tech industries.

The new international airport, good investment alternative to stocks and bonds, support from government in relation to tax rebates and growth in other industries like hospitality, IT, retail, entertainment, leisure have had their impact in a major way.

Many prestigious IT companies from all across the world have established their base in Bangalore Accenture, Royal Dutch Shell, Spirit Aero Siemens and WindRiver Systems are joining in for running their operations here. There is lot of demand for commercial property in Bangalore mainly due to the growing demand for office spaces in Bangalore.

Bangalore is culturally strong and music and dance concerts (Western and Indian), dramas, exhibitions, carnivals, conferences are a regular feature. It has a salubrious climate and gardens, parks, natural lakes, architectural landmarks, shopping malls, the swankiest restaurants and trendy pubs in this part of the globe, huge business opportunities.
All these factors have resulted in tremendous hike in the valuation of Bangalore real estate market.

Infrastructure and Facilities

The current government has shown a lot of keenness on infrastructure development and the IT industry development, which should support the commercial real estate market. Already improved in parts, like South Bangalore which has good infrastructural facilities like better parking, low traffic density, Bangalore is all set to become the quintessential global city.

The focus on big international projects like airport expansion, hotels, hospitals, corporate parks etc. is sure to get better response from the venture capitalists and NRI s in a major way. This means bright prospects in terms of volumes and returns for real estate investment for the city.

The HAL Airport is the domestic and international airport serving Bangalore. The bustling metropolis has several malls, Daimler-Chrysler R&D Centre, MICO Bosch's International Testing Centre, Toyota and Volvo besides several IT and BPOs of world class.

Bangalore International Airport is a 4,050 acre international airport that is being built to serve the city. Airport is located 30 km from the city. It will then take all the commercial flights that are currently operating out of the HAL Airport. HAL can then get back to making optimal utilization of the resources at the airport.

A brand new expressway is expected to connect the International Airport to the City's Ring Road. This will be a tolled road. The Indian Government has recently approved measures to enable the new Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to make modifications in the project design to cater to 8.4 million passengers by 2010.

The formation of Greater Bangalore has given a fillip to the real estate market.year. The land prices have soared in the villages and the urban local bodies. There has been an increase of 20% over the previous years. The move will have a healthy effect on infrastructure and will iron out some severe development and civic issues that the city is facing. Flyovers and one-ways have mitigated the traffic situation.

Town planning and development planning authorities are fast filling up gaps to provide decent infrastructure of a global city that Bangalore is. The Central and State Governments have committed sizeable funding towards the improvement of Bangalore's infrastructure. Bangalore Development Authority is laying additional lanes on many of the major roads around Bangalore

The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) is one of India's top ranking management institutes in the country. International School Bangalore (TISB) is a private primary and secondary education institution located in the outskirts of Bangalore. Students of TISB typically take the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examination. The school offers two-year International Baccalaureate diploma.

The Metro is the proposed mass transit rail system for Bangalore. The government plans to set up the country's first IT finishing school for graduates tailored to the requirements of the industry. It will offer a 12-month diploma course and will churn out 5,000 students and more.

Bangalore is Asia's preferred medical destination and Wockhardt Hospital is the choice for super-specialty healthcare. Each specialty has leading full-time consultants, backed by comprehensive, best-in-class technology and allied, well-trained para-medical staff to provide world-class services, including 24/7 emergency services.
Sagar Apollo Hospital at Bangalore is a well known provider of muti-dimensional healthcare.

Real Estate Developments in Bangalore

The property trends that govern the Bangalore's real estate market include government initiatives for development of the city as a way of promoting demand for real estate property through private builders / developers and corporates. Residential townships have developed at various locations as naturally.

Bangalore is experiencing an all time high in the real estate valuation in both the domestic and international markets. It can be a brilliant choice to invest in Bangalore real estate. Projects sanctioned by the Bangalore Development Authority boast of unique advantages of high-profile properties, available within the city fringes at better re-sale values and above all, better price appreciation.

The development of residential properties in Bangalore shows a great deal of planning and high-quality architecture, engineering and refined urbanism in good measure. These have the backing of good infrastructure along with pleasant greenery. There are entertainment and fitness centers like Gyms, indoor/outdoor sports, international quality shopping complexes. Reputed real estate developers in Bangalore implement quality- housing projects by adapting latest technologies.

With the new government taking a positive approach towards infrastructure development, Bangalore is likely to attract more corporates and developers for housing and commercial projects.

The new concept in living in the garden city is that of customized villas with beautiful gardens spruced up with amenities like a clubhouse, swimming pool, and supermarket. Rows of villas are placed in an attractive arrangement with a lawn in front and the sides and a backyard free. The villas are placed in an attractive arrangement.

On retail property the average yield returns is around 10-12%, 10-11.25% on commercial investments and 5-7% per annum on the residential properties.

Appreciation

The demand for retail, commercial, office and residential real estate in Bangalore reaching new and dizzying heights, the prices for property for sale and rent is increasing rapidly. The recent developments have shown appreciation in price to almost 70 per cent in residential apartments, while land values have gone up by over 100 per cent in some cases.

Bangalore now commands a relatively larger proportion of demand for office space in the metros like it did in 2004. Property prices for both residential and commercial spaces has at times crossed 100 per cent and the rise moves on at a frenzied pace.

Even the outskirts like places beyond Devanahalli, Whitefield, Sarjapur, Electronic City, and even farther which are a good 25-50 kilometers away from the city have achieved a remarkable appreciation. Rentals are steep already excluding, electricity, and water bills and the advance ranges between Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh for a two bedroom apartment.
2005 liberalization of India's FDI policy gave a fillip to the levels of FDI reaching the real estate sector in India.Against the backdrop of vibrant industrial growth, the boom is driven not just by investments in the IT industry, high salaries drawn by its employees investments by NRIs also added to the boom genuine demand from end users.

Bangalore's Residential Property Market: From 2005 onwards, apartments in the most desirable districts in south eastern, eastern and northern Bangalore have achieved property price gains in the region of 20%. Villas in Bangalore have enjoyed up to 30% capital appreciation. The increased rental and sale prices for well located property in Bangalore have spelt a good investment opportunity for NRIs scouting for good deals in Indian real estate market.

Bangalore's Commercial Property Market: Well located commercial space is so coveted that an increase in the prices, also in the Central Business District(CBD) in Bangalore has increased at a sharp and sustained rate. Since the city is the undisputed leader in IT and is the best location for IT and IT related companies in India, the demand for space is rising in proportion with the number of businesses being established in India which are at an all time high. There are other business sectors that have an equally strong demand for commercial properties in Bangalore.

There is a strong demand for retail space as well in Bangalore even as construction of several shopping malls gets underway. Consumer demand is very intense as the population of Bangalore steadily increases. Bangalore is undoubtedly a huge successful property market, worth exploring.

Just like the fact that urbanization will accompany economic progress, it is certain that housing values will go up manifold. Investing in homes as well as commercial property seems very rewarding
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NRI Real Estate trends

Bangalore which is currently the most dynamic real estate market has over a dozen new projects leading builders in the city that have designs on Non Resident Indians. There are numerous instances of people who lived overseas for many years and have settled in Bangalore for the last five or six years.

Increasingly, the drift is towards buyers with discerning tastes who care for open spaces. Lifestyle Habitat which is a top of the line premium residential project has takers from overseas Indians from Singapore, Nigeria, Djakarta and the Middle East. Luxury apartments or independent villas with facilities have a certain charm that makes them relate with their lifestyle.

Top end segment, which includes bungalows and independent villas grab attention from NRIs. There are a host of investing and financial management companies to advise on real estate investments and national banks are not far behind in coming up with innovative schemes on housing loans. Indeed, the top end segment includes bungalows and independent villas constituting a visible demand from the NRIs.

Concorde Silicon Valley, a project of the Concorde Group is situated in the heart of electronic city. The highlight of the project was independent villas with price ranging from ranging from $45,500 to $160,000. People were completely bought into the concept. Swimming pool, gymnasium, shopping malls, medical facilities, and tennis courts, and what have you are among the amenities.

The new developments are concentrated in North Bangalore or close to the proposed Hi-Tech City. High-end residential developments, after saturating in the Central Business District have branched out to different parts of the city.

Latest Real Estate Projects in Bangalore

The Karnataka government has been at the helm of things in attracting interest from many large real estate developers for the 106 acre, Rs.350 crore biotech park projects in Bangalore. The proposed "Helix" park located in Electronics City Phase 3 has its goals clearly cut out. It aims to attract biotech companies, including startups, by providing infrastructure such as office space and educational and research facilities within the vicinity.
Similarly, there is no dearth of projects funded by FDI in India's real estate sector. Vancouver-based Royal Indian Raj International Corporation (RIRIC) is investing $2.9 billion in a single real-estate project named Royal Garden City in Bangalore over a period of 10 years.

Originally called Jagdish Tytler's NRI City, it has a retail value of $8.9 billion. It can easily be one of India's largest FDI projects and Asia's largest new city development till date. This exclusive city will be located 20 km from downtown Bangalore in the direction of the proposed international airport.

Knowledge City is being developed specifically to meet the requirements of the IT industry's growth in Karnataka. The Knowledge City will be connected to the upcoming Bangalore International Airport by an eight-lane highway. Once completed, it will connect the airport and the Knowledge City in as short a time as a 30-minute drive.

Integrated township, which would have office space, residential colonies, hospitals, shopping malls, schools and all the required amenities have gone down well with customers as well as developers.

Companies setting up shops also believe that employees must reside in the complex, which will result in less congestion in Bangalore city. The government has conceived development of more satellite towns in and around Bangalore that can help ease its congestion and relieve pressure on its infrastructure

Bangalore is especially hot in the residential market. Some top end projects aimed at NRIs in Bangalore are Prestige Shantiniketan, Puravankara Fountain Square, Prestige Ozone, and Orchid Green. Homes in these developments will set you back by $70,000 to $350,000. They boast imported wood and fittings and above all offer exclusivity. The projects have features like squash courts, health spas and other luxury features. Prestige Shantiniketan is another property which sold out like hot cakes. Thirty-five to forty percent of the buyers constituted NRIs.

A project called Lifestyle Habitat is a marvel; 60 percent of its inventory was sold within four months of launch. It is modeled after the Malaysian Petronas Towers and comprises 24 floors and 100 units. Buyers in Lifestyle Habitat are from Singapore, Nigeria, Djakarta and the Middle East. It is the U.S. based Indians though, that has a taste for luxury apartments and independent villas with facilities.

The concept of independent villas has so mesmerized people that projects by developers such as Sobha, Brigade and Mantri have attracted considerable buyer attention. They have all the trappings of world class amenities coupled with the comfort of a home. Gymnasium, shopping malls, medical facilities, and tennis courts are a given.