India tipped to develop property hotspots

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by Gill Montia

Homesgofast.com, the overseas property portal, is predicting that India could develop the kind of property hotspots that have been seen recently in Bulgaria and other eastern European countries.

According to Nicholas Marr, chief executive of the website, “Bulgaria has died down a lot; it was all the rage last year. It’s almost like a fashion, and India is definitely on the agenda for next year.”

Mr Marr believes that investors will be attracted by a strong “exit strategy” which exists because both India’s local community and the international community are active in the property market.

He explains that “Somewhere like Mumbai or Delhi would attract both; an international market because it is cheap and the local community who are looking for new properties, so there is a good exit strategy there.”

Prices in both cities are keen and in the case of Delhi, which will be hosting the 2010 Commonwealth games, development plans should provide plenty of new investment opportunities.

However prospective purchasers need to be aware of the country’s bureaucratic traditions and foreign investment rules and policies.

These include regulations with regard to land ownership and the repatriation of funds, which need to be thoroughly researched.