The Shifting Focus Towards Smaller Cities for Real Estate Development

The strong improvement in the economic state of the country over the last decade has opened up prospects for improved participation in the field of real estate. Growing prospects for investment were instrumental in encouraging big-scale developments in leading metropolitan such as the National Capital of Delhi, and other major cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.

The rapid growth in infrastructure stimulated massive inflow of populations from other parts of the nation to these cities, putting strain on the social amenities available. However, as per recent real estate market analysis, over the last few years, a significant change has been noticed with regards to real developments, as the focus of major players in this field shifts towards smaller cities. Launch of large-scale townships, IT parks, retail stores and special economic zones in tier I and tier II cities is now a major part of the Indian real estate.  

What has caused this shift in focus? 

• Proximity to big cities – Cities such as Noida and Ghaziabad, for instance, are located in close proximity to a major metropolitan (in this case, Delhi). This enables people in these locations to easily avail the amenities in big cities, whilst avoiding their crowd and rush.  

• Lot of scope for development – Unlike the popular urban localities, small cities have a lot of free space available, which allows developers more freedom when planning big projects. They also have more options when it comes to choosing sites for their projects. 

• Industrial and commercial developments – Another major reason that has essentially fuelled the creation of townships and hi-tech residential projects in smaller cities is the sprawling of commercial and industrial developments. 

• Mix-use infrastructure – As per top developers in the NCR, rising demands for properties in Ghaziabad and Noida has also resulted from the presence of mix-use infrastructure in these cities. These are amenities that adequately meet the need of city-dwellers, allowing them to lead a life of comfort and luxury. 

• Natural vistas – Eco-friendly development is all the jazz in the real estate sector at present. The availability of vast stretches of lush green land in smaller cities just makes attaining the “green living” goals so much easier for developers. 

As growing numbers of developers focus on bringing planned projects in these cities, the idea of nation-wide development in real estate is catching speed too. It is also hoped that such changes will be instrumental in solving problems concerning urbanisation in major cities, in the future.