Demand for commercial property getting back on track, say Ahmedabad's realtors

The recent boom in the real estate segment, according to experts, has been limited to the residential properties market alone. Most feel that the commercial property sector has been lagging behind, with only the premium class properties eliciting any interest.

Recent trends though, indicate that the segment is showing signs of revival.

Reeling under pressure for more than two years, the commercial property segment has been underperforming mainly due to over-supply, feel experts. They say this is especially true of the retail sector. Now, however, inquiries are going up, especially for office spaces with a corporate ambience.

Gujarat is one of the most rapidly developing areas in the country and major corporate houses are coming in. With these strides, Ahmedabad is all set to grow into an economic hot spot, feels Jaxay Shah, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI), Gujarat. He adds that the demand for office premises is bound to be on the rise.

Echoing this sentiment is Rajesh Vaswani, director of Venus Infrastructure and Developers Ltd, who says inquiries for office premises have increased by around 50% in the last three months or so.

"Many of these inquiries now go as far as into the third round, resulting in conversion into transaction. Transactions have also doubled during the current financial year, as compared to the same period last year", he states.

Realty players have witnessed demand coming in from the telecommunication and information technology sectors. However, financial areas such as banking and insurance are yet to overcome the impact of recession, say realtors. The inquiries are not limited to specific areas, but SG Highway and Prahladnagar seem to be the most preferred locations. "Large corporates want a completely professional ambience for their offices.

One must provide facilities such as a parking, foyer, good ceiling height and novel designs to match their aspirations", says Shah.
However, certain classes, particularly brokers, are of the opinion that the commercial property market is still not doing well, and there is no movement there either. "There is no indication that the commercial market, even office spaces, is showing improvement," said Bharat Korat, CEO (commercial) of City Estate Management.