How Delhi's Cultural Heritage Pushes Real Estate Across NCR  

They say, and there is enough data to substantiate their claim, that the property markets in Delhi have long saturated. And the reasons for this are many. Property in the national capital is highly expensive. However, those who are still willing to pay a heavy price, have to generally satisfy themselves with a small unit in an old housing society — new constructions in the national capital have been far and few and most of the apartment buildings are at least 20 years old. A space crunch that has resulted in land prices reaching obnoxious levels has pushed home buyers to look towards what could be termed as the second-best option, the national capital region (NCR). Property in cities like Noida, Ghaziabad and Bhiwadi is quite affordable, constructions are new, industry is thriving and jobs are aplenty. (Gurgaon offers all the same except property here is not as affordable as it is in other cities.)

However, analysts who cite money, employment opportunities and industrial developments as reasons for the growth of satellite cities often fail to give due credit a crucial reason that drives it all – Delhi's cultural and political heritage. Those who come to work in, say, Noida tell their family members back at home they have found an employment in Delhi. Such statements are quite telling of the huge significance Delhi has on the psyche of Indians. Such statements have more to do with Delhi's cultural value which can often not be overshadowed by, say, job opportunities in adjoining cities.

While trips to malls and giant water parks are all very good, most of us would like our children to be more interested in visiting the India Gate on a breezy rainy day. No matter how much we adore fashion designers who have set up fancy shops in plush localities of Gurgaon, most of us would like to visit Chandni Chowk for our wedding shopping. Despite their swanky structures, we would want our grownup children to enroll in the old and famous educational institutes of Delhi. The wide roads along the NCR that let you drive as fast smooth (at least off the peak hours) are all very good, but nothing matches a walk along the outer and inner circles of the Connaught Place.

To be able to do all that, we have to be somewhere close to Delhi and our options are many. If we want affordable, we think Noida and Ghaziabad; if we think luxury, Gurgaon with its plush localities pops up in out memory. Because affordable and luxury both would be far pricier in the national capital – an old 1BHK in an affordable locality in Delhi may cost you as much as Rs 65 lakh, while you can buy a brand-new 3BHK apartment in Noida for the same amount in a better locality – we would think beyond. In a way, Delhi's loss is the peripheral cities' gain. But, if you gave this idea a second thought, you would pretty soon realise its Delhi's enormous amount of political and cultural gain that it fueling the demand for real estate in the periphery and it would continue to do so in future.