Villas sprawl realty as richie rich reclaim space

Villas sprawl realty as richie rich reclaim space
The Times of India

Bangalore: As a lifestyle statement, luxury apartments could soon become passe.

On the Outer Ring Road near Marathahalli, down Whitefield Road and along the Satya Sai Baba Ashram Road, a number of massive villa projects are under way, driven by the growing urge among Bangalore’s richie rich to have large exclusive spaces in beautiful landscaped settings.

These are gated communities, enjoying the security that is normally associated with apartment complexes. A project typically has several hundred villas that provide all manner of amenities — club house, swimming pool and tennis courts.

Different projects offer different architectural styles for your home — from traditional south Indian to exotic Tudor, Scottish and Mediterranean architecture. They are guided by association rules that give the confidence that an adjacent plot will not one day turn into a huge commercial project and spoil the surrounding ambience.

And if you think those buying these properties are retired folk who want to live away from the city in a quiet environment, you couldn’t be more wrong. “About 70 per cent of buyers are young professionals from IT industry, most between the ages of 27 and 40. There are also NRIs buying villas,” says Sridhar, marketing head of Chaithanya Projects, which is doing three villa projects on the Satya Sai Baba Ashram Road.

Agrees Air Commodore (retd) Anand, general manager in Red Stone Projects, that is setting up a villa layout in Whitefield and is planning to have more such projects in some half a dozen locations in Bangalore: “Many of these youngsters feel if they are investing big money, might as well do it in an independent house with a nice lawn around, instead of in an apartment where your roof is somebody else’s floor.”

Adarsh Group’s Palm Meadows was the early trend setter in villas. Today, a number of developers have entered the arena: Prestige, Puravankara, Vaswani, Ferns, Vakil. The prices of these properties range from Rs 40 lakh for row houses to Rs 50 lakh-Rs 1 crore and more for villas.

These layouts often have issues, given their distance from the city. A villa resident notes that the approach roads are not good, and schools and hospitals may not be close.

“But they are still better than the city,” says Zahed Mahmood, director in Silverline Realty. “The city is so messed up. Zoning regulations are violated. Suddenly an office may spring up next to your house, spoiling your view and ambience. The modern villa layouts have lots of open space. They can be particularly great for children.”

Breaking walls

Most villa buyers are young IT professionals
Many NRIs and people in other cities wish to spend their autumn in Bangalore
The cost ranges from Rs 50 lakh to over Rs 1 crore
Rents range from Rs 30,000 to over Rs 1 lakh