Mumbai: Seeing a construction frenzy

MUMBAI
Prime properties in locations such as Bandra (West), Khar, Santacruz, Juhu and Andheri are likely to see appreciation of 5 to 10 per cent in three to five years. There is increased construction activity in areas such as Malad, Goregaon, Kandivali and Powai, as they offer easy access to the Western Express highway and reasonable land rates. Their proximity to new commercial hubs like Bandra-Kurla and Andheri-Kurla will also help. The bottomline: an appreciation of 5 to 7 per cent in the next three to five years.

Delhi: Satellites Gurgaon and Noida are it

DELHI
Delhi-satellite Gurgaon, home to several multinational companies, business process outsourcing firms, and a growing number of guppies (Gurgaon's Upwardly mobile Prosperous Professionals) is the hottest thing going. Property could appreciate 20 to 35 per cent in the next three years, not least because of a high-speed expressway connecting Delhi and Gurgaon that will be completed sometime in 2005. Another satellite, Noida holds the promise of 15 to 20 per cent appreciation over the next one to two years, but that's really no comparison.

Bangalore: IT still drives prices here

BANGALORE
Three suburbs, Electronics City, Sarajapur and Whitefield hold the maximum potential for appreciation. Reason: the tech campuses that are located there and the new ones coming up. Thousands of well-heeled code jocks are on the look out for land and property close to their place of work. Expect prices to double in three years.

Chennai: Hinging on growth expectations

CHENNAI
South Chennai is happening. Houses in the Rs 10 to 25 lakh range on Velachery Road and Old Mahabalipuram Road could appreciate by 100 per cent in the next three years. The reason: several it companies are putting down roots here. And in the Rs 25-lakh-plus category, property in city boroughs Adyar and Tiruvanmiyur isn't all that bad an idea given their proximity to the emerging it belt.

HYDERABAD
Villas and bungalows in Hyderabad suburbs Medchal or Shamirpet could set buyers back by some Rs 25 to 50 lakh, but could appreciate by 100 per cent in the next three to five years.

Kolkata: New hotspots emerge

KOLKATA
Kolkata hotspot Rajarhat is still quite inaccessible. And going by the past appreciation (Bengal Ambuja's Udita property nearby has appreciated 100 to 120 per cent in the last five to seven years, and buyers are optimistic that history will repeat itself in Utsa, its new project in Rajarhat), the area may be worth looking at. The other hot areas are Salt Lake, Jadavpur, Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and Ballygunj Circular Road where properties are expected to appreciate 20 to 30 per cent in the next six months to three years.

-compiled by Sahad P.V.