Dubai: Property in India is not the only realty play for high net worth Indian investors considering a global footprint.
“Markets such as London and New York have seen a lot of Indian money recently and that trend will continue for some time,” said Paul Preston, director at IP Global, Middle East. “Yes, there’s a lot of money going back into India from the UAE currently.
“The currency is helping these people, but you also need to look at how much value you think there is in the properties you’re buying. Mumbai and Delhi have seen huge price increases over the last 10 years… far greater than the currency upside for UAE-based Indians sending money back home today to invest into property.
“The domestic market in India is huge for investing into real estate and with a growing population — expected to be the world’s largest by 2026 — there will always be a demand for housing. Like any investment, diversification is very important.”
Knight Frank India in collaboration with IP Global showcased property investment options in the US, the UK, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Australia at an exhibition in Mumbai earlier this week and repeating it in Delhi.
But won’t the further slide in the rupee make it less likely that high net worth investors in India might opt to stay put rather than park funds outside?
“We were a little cautious about this but with the rupee likely to drop further and not rebound for some time, the value in our projects and the markets we have these assets in are likely to see significant upside which will outweigh any currency decline over the mid- to long-term,” said Preston.
“We have projects in central London, for example, which are set to benefit considerably by the new ‘Cross Rail’ which completes in 2017; experts are predicting up to 56 per cent increase in property prices in certain locations along the line. Certain areas of real estate markets perform better than others — investors need to make sure they invest into areas of regeneration where prices are expected to appreciate due to increased government and private spending.”
