top reality options to invest in near metro citiesBuy a home for yourself this year.

Buy a home for yourself this year. That's the message of Union Budget 2013-14. The Budget has announced an additional tax deduction of Rs 1 lakh for those taking a loan up to Rs 25 lakh to buy their first home this financial year.

If you find the bait attractive enough, the Rs 25-lakh loan cap and high property prices mean you have limited options if you cannot make a big down-payment. One option is buying a house at places not far from metro cities where prices are on the lower side. Even if you don't want to move away from the main city, the high returns that some of these new locations promise means the house can be used as a bridge to the one that you want to live in.

THE ALTERNATIVES

With improving connectivity, expanding cities and rising property prices, more and more home buyers are looking at places close to metro cities. Developers are also betting big on such locations.

Some emerging locations are Manesar (Haryana), Neemrana (Rajasthan), Narela (Delhi), Dharuhera (Haryana), Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Yelahanka (Karnataka) and Ranjanapada (Maharashtra). Knight Frank India, a property consultancy, listed Manesar, Neemrana, Narela, Yelahanka and Ranjanapada as "hidden gems" in a report released towards the end of last year.

"Buying property in a location that is well-connected and an upcoming industrial hub is apt not only from the end-user point of view but also from the investment point of view," says PS Jayakumar, managing director of Value and Budget Housing Corporation (VBHC), a Bangalorebased developer with focus on low-cost homes.

"The Delhi-National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR) should be a good bet, but buyers need to be aware of two situations-one, economic development in the area and, two, rise in inventory with a large number of new properties getting ready," says Ankur Gupta, joint managing director of Delhi-based Ashiana Housing.

To attract both investors and first-time buyers, developers are offering properties in a number of destinations close to metro cities. Some of these are likely to give good returns over the years .

Avinash kumar
PGDM 2nd sem.