40 year old consultant Suryanarayanan has been on the lookout to buy a new home in Chennai.
He had the pick from all of Chennai’s real estate market, including from more affordable projects in the newer areas of North Chennai. But, because he was uncompromising on the connectivity aspect, he settled on a project by the ozone group in West Chennai.

“For me to go from here to the rail station it is 7 kms, to the airport it is 13-14 kms, bus stands are less than a km away, central markets are close by, the metro is less than 200 metres away from the main gate,” says Suryanarayanan.

It’s not just Suryanarayanan, Chennai’s slow progress when it comes to planning and executing major infrastructure projects has made connectivity a key factor influencing prospective home buyers’ buying decisions today. This connectivity factor, may also be one major reason why in an otherwise dull market, real estate in South and West Chennai is offering hope for revival.

Data collected by real estate consultancy Knight Frank has revealed that the South and West Chennai markets have accounted for some of the highest launches in the first half of 2015, compared to other parts of the city. While the sales in the Southern regions picked up by as much as 8%, sales remained steady in West Chennai at 3%. Over 92% of under-construction projects are focussed in these two markets as well, all fueled by newly completed infrastructure initiatives.

“In the recent announcements, the ORR, which connects the South to the North, of a 60 km stretch, the first 30 kms have been opened, which is a big driver for growth here. Very recently the Metro was launched – the small stretch between Koyambedu and Alandur was launched which is further driving growth here,” explains Kanchana Krishnan, Director – Chennai, Knight Frank India

It doesn’t stop with the homebuyers. The completion and near completion of some of these infrastructure initiatives has also given developers leeway to price their products right, considering ‘affordably priced homes’ are the magic words that homebuyers want to hear today.

Developers in Chennai are now able to launch projects in pockets like Poonamallee, Ambattur, Kundrathur, Pallavaram, once considered relatively far flung, at more affordable rates. In fact 83% of homes being offered in the West Chennai markets, and 53% of homes in the West Chennai markets are today being offered under the price bracket of Rs 50 lakhs.

Developers believe that most of this will be possible in the Northern region of Chennai as well, only if continuous investments are made in infrastructure.

“The demand will continue to rise in the south and west because that’s where the growth continues to happen. The metro rail, only now they are talking about extending it to Moolakadai. Ring roads have opened up and reached up to North Chennai, Madhavaram and then the intermediate bypass also reached there. These are adding some kind of connectivity, otherwise the north was very difficult to access in the past. Unless the Government invests more in infrastructure here, the North will always be third pick,” says R Kumar, MD, Navin’s Housing & Properties

In addition to infrastructure investment, real estate experts feel that commercial development will also need to take place in North Chennai for it to compete with the South and West zones of the city.

Lakshmi Sivadas, Reporter- Bangalore & Chennai Bureau, NDTV.