Real Estate Along The OMR

The OMR is a 50 kilometre long road connecting the town of Mahabalipuram with Adyar’sJunction of Madhya Kailash in Chennai. It can be divided into three segments like the Kelambakkam-Semmencherry, Shollinganallur-Madhya Kailash and Mahabalipuram-Kelambakkam.

The stretch along this road saw the development of an ITeS and IT corridor in the past decade in the city which has the second largest information technology exports in India. The expansion of an industry on such a scale makes way for expansion of other enterprises as well. The humongous workforce of the IT sector has stirred the realty sector of the area.

Development

Some of the micro markets which have developed much along this stretch are Karapakkam, Taramani, Thoraipakkam, Shollinganallur and Perungudi. Even though this stretch is the house of the IT parks, offices and IT SEZs in the city, it also houses numerous residential projects which have been started for catering primarily to the IT employees and their catchment numbers.

Quite a few residential complexes are undergoing various phases of construction even though there is a paucity of land parcels in this area. Some of the notable residential projects being carried out here are the Greens by India Bulls, Pebble Brook by Jain Housing and Residency by Embassy Group etc.

The road which is 200 feet in length connects Pallavaram with Thoraipakkam and it has a good number of land pockets where there are approximately1000 residential units in existence already. The road is the cynosure of all property development firms and social infrastructure such as malls, educational institutes and hospitals already available. Builders who have recently entered this micro market are Agni Estates, Mantri Developers, Ramanyam etc. The residential projects being thought of by these developers are prominent and luxury in nature.

The second stretch between Kelambakkam and Semmencherry has witnessed important growth in the residential accommodation sector over 5 to 6 years gone by. SIPCOT in Siruseri has almost 50,000 people working and forms an important catchment area. As large tracts of land are available here, builders have started constructing residential gated residential communities and projects of townships whose main focus are the IT workers in this area. Some of the big scale projects in this area are Ouranya Bay by True Value Homes, Upscale by Hiranandani and Swanlake by Puravankara.

The final stretch of OMR where builders have managed to procure large parcels of land at inexpensive rates have led to more affordable pricing house units compared to other sections of the city. A Japanese township worth Rs 3,500 crore is being built over 1,500 acres. The township project was agreed upon by the Guidance Bureau, TNIIFA and Japanese consortium consisting of the JGC Corp. and Mizuho Corp Bank. The township adds value to this area along with offering employment opportunities to roughly 2 lakh people.

Other notable townships in this area are PBEL City which has sports facilities integrated into it, Phoenix Hodu- The Village which has completely furnished flats and Divyashree-Prime Hub which has villas constructed along with development of plots. This has certainly increased the possibility of getting a lease house in Chennai. Moreover, many national and local developers have acquired large parcels of land for starting residential projects in the future. Some of the developers who hold significant land parcels in this stretch are Akshaya Homes, Marg, Hiranandani Developers and Vijayshanthi Developers.

The road connecting Vandallur and Kelambakkam has attractive residential projects for the purpose of investment in the long term. As the government of Tamil Nadu has thought of acquiring sixty six acres of land inVandallur for a suburban bus terminus, the area looks highly promising for the purpose of property investments.

When it comes to the OMR, many link roads have been developed that connect it to the NH45 also known as the GST Road which provides additional opportunities of development for the land parcels available in the area. As an elevated highway will be inaugurated shortly, the last bit of this micro market along this stretch looks very promising as an investment option in property. The spill over IT activity from Siruseri plus the affordable price of land in this stretch of the region are anticipated to lead realty development in an organized fashion in this area. Moreover, the extension of OMR between Mahabalipuram and Siruseri into a 6 lane expressway also has the possibility of amplifying organized realty activities in the future.

Low Demand 

Even though there is such a buzzing real estate sector here, OMR is losing its charm to house hunters in the recent period. Aside from the humdrum economic climate, the main reason for a drop in demand in this sub market is the rapid increase in property price of the area.

Think of it this way that through 2010-2014, the pricing points increased by almost 60 to 80 percent, particularly in the first 2 segments of the stretch. It clearly indicated why an area which was much in demand for its cost effectiveness is leaving the normal house hunters with cold feet.

Even spots like Medavakkom right off Shollinganallur and believed to be one of the 10 best property neighbourhoods in India, has become quite affordable for the general house buyer in the city in the past few years because of the rising price of property.

Moreover, the social infrastructure in the OMR stretch is yet to be in tandem with the prices of products being offered and this is another reason why the micro market has experienced stagnation. The truth is affordable property is now available along the bordering stretches of the OMR, much beyond Padur, located 35 to 40 kilometres from Adyar.

Even though social infrastructure available in this stretch is not as much as it should be available, house hunters do not have much choice except investing here. However, residential properties by the OMR shall continue to entice demand in future because of the large workforce of the IT sector that the area caters to. However, till the property prices come down, the area has lost a lot of its previous demand for becoming unaffordable to the regular house hunters in Chennai.