SOUTH DELHI ADDRESS STILL MOST COVETED  The growth of premier satellite towns around Delhi has not taken the sheen off the original best-sellers, south Delhi. That the glamour for a West End, Defence Colony or Golf Links address has only increased can be gauged from the fact that capital values here have increased 15-20% over the last six months, despite a slump in real estate all around.  A prominent South Delhi developer said the number of people putting their bungalows up for redevelopment has also increased manifold and he expects rates to go up even further in the coming months. Apartments this side of town is being sold in the range of Rs.4 crore to Rs.10 crore depending on the size and location. On the other hand, the charms of Mumbai’s posh southern localities like Cuffe Parade, Malabar Hills and Cambala Hills has waned over the last six months after an astounding three-fold jump in three years.  Homebay (a subsidiary of property consultancy JLLM) CEO Raminder Grover said supply in south Delhi has improved considerably over the last one year. From 50-60 apartments about a year ago, there are now around 200 apartments available or under construction in various areas of South Delhi such as Vasant Vihar, West End, Defence Colony, Gulmihar Park, Anand Niketan, Golf Links, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar.A 1, 800-sq ft apartment in Vasant Vihar which was going for Rs.3-4 crore in 2006 costs Rs.7-8 crore today. An apartment of similar size in Maharani Bagh would cost Rs.5 crore today, up from Rs.2.5 crore a year ago. In the last two years, Me. Grover said there has been an appreciation of 70-100% in South Delhi apartment prices. “People want a South Delhi address just because of the prestige associated with in,” explained Mr. Grover. Other reasons include proximity to major shopping areas, airport and better infrastructure. “A majority of the flats are sold to high net worth individuals who could be industrialists, businessman, professionals and senior executives of MNCs,” said Uppal Group general manager, luxury apartments, MK Minocha. Developers such as Saluja Constructions, Uppal Housing and Thapar Homes either form a joint venture (JV) with bungalow owners in these areas or buy them out completely, in a JV, people usually keep a floor or two for their use and let the developer sell the rest. Saluja Constructions director Ankush Saluja said the company has about 25 such projects under construction at moment. While South Delhi is on the rise, south Mumbai seems to have stopped in its tracks. After a 300% growth in the last three to four years, the last six months have seen capital values in south Mumbai remain flat, said Cushman & Wakefield director (residential) Aditi Vijayakar. Many potential buyers have been sitting on the fence, waiting for prices to correct in Mumbai, says Ms Vijayakar, the value of transactions might have been higher in the last six months but the number has come down considerably.                                                                                                Courtesy: - ET dt.23 july2008