b>Indian Real Estate: An Investment in the Future

Rising gold prices and the highs and lows of the Indian stock markets has changed the perception of upper and middle-class Indians vis-à-vis their investment value. Increasingly, the middle class is looking favourably on investing in a second home. A new trend that is responsible for altering investment opportunities and adding buoyancy to the Indian real estate market.

The ability to buy a second home is being viewed as a measure of job confidence, an increase in salaries and growth in income. As larger homes become affordable due to dual incomes and salary increases, low interest home loans, more and more people are buying first or second homes, houses that are not only bigger but in a more upscale area. While moving into the second home, first homes are being retained as rental property or a form of immovable though safe and reliable investment. India's economic boom has given the middle-class job confidence and a confidence in the ability to pay off first house loans while going in for a second loan. In a smart move, rental income from first homes is being used to pay off the estimated monthly instalments (EMI) on the second home, an asset without a tax liability.

As India performs well on the economic scale, and salaries double at a rapid pace, increasingly, people are buying second homes to get away from the mundane routine of their lives. People are busy snapping up real estate deals in Mahabaleshwar, Haridwar, Dehra Dun, Vrindavan, Rishikesh, Khandala and Lonavala for second or leisure homes. Hitherto, an unheard of possibility for middle-class Indians, a sure sign that India is fast emerging out of the economic poverty that colonial rule brought the country.

And, as multinationals, NRIs set up base in India, they find real estate and rental properties come at a relatively cheaper price in India than abroad. This has caused a slew of foreign developers to enter the Indian real estate market looking for a share in the profits. A burgeoning population, the break down of the joint family system, a strident demand for additional housing will further fuel the surge in real estate sale prices.

For those who are listening, Indian or NRI, it makes good sense to invest in a second home while the bank loan interest rates are low and property prices in India still have a sustainable shock value.

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