Bangalore prices seen heading North

The information technology (IT) industry might still be recovering from a recession and trying to find its feet, but it continues to turn the fortunes of the real estate sector.

Take the area called the IT corridor in Bangalore, for instance. The arc stretches from Hosur Road to Sarjapur Road to Airport Road and Whitefield.

Prices certainly have not remained where they were a few months ago, but have risen. Demand for land in the area has gone up and, what's more, construction activity has increased.

Layouts like Teachers' Colony, H.S.R. Layout are fast developing into proper suburbs of their own and properties like Trinity Acres - that was once considered 'way out' - hardly has any flats/apartments to spare.

It all started with the establishment of the Electronic City on Hosur Road, nearly a decade ago. The closest place to live then was Koramangala or BTM Layout.

Prices shot up in these areas. Koramangala went a step further. Residences were converted into offices as garage setups running dotcoms or backend operations or even sweat shops for the IT industry in the west became popular. You could not throw a stone without hitting it either a dotcom or a IT set up and most definitely an IT professional.

Soon things started getting crowded and Indian IT and consumer goods giant Wipro took the first step out of electronic city. It set up its campus on the Sarjapur Road that lay on the arc between Hosur Road and Airport Road.

Obviously, its thousands of employees had to find a home closer to work (given the state of roads and transport facilities in this city) and HSR Layout became popular. The International Technology Park made Whitefield an IT destination.

Since Sarjapur Road lay nearly equidistant from both Hosur Road and Electronic city on the one side and Whitefield and IT Park on the other, it became the chosen home space for the IT professional.

Large developers have now started quickly moving in on the kill. Sobha Developers, Trinity, Ferns Builders and Vakils are busy setting up shop and projects.

A large condominium project by Corporate Leisure and Property Developers promising to be a township in itself is coming up in the area. Rates, obviously are climbing. Land that was once available at Rs100 a square foot has now shot up to Rs250.

(We won't even discuss those who picked up large tracts at something as silly as Rs20 a square foot, ten years ago. ) Apartments cost as much as Rs1,250 per square foot, depending, of course on location, quality and amenities.

Admittedly, there is a dearth of facilities at the moment. In some parts of Sarjapur Road the nearest grocer is about a kilometre away, schools are available only in Koramangala as are hospitals and bus facilities.

The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation is yet to recognise the fact that Sarjapur Road has become a busy residential area, explaining the increasing number of people trudging a kilometre or two to Koramangala to catch a bus.

But then, as the area grows, the dearth will surely not continue. Already, you can see signs of small schools coming up, private bus operators stopping by and taking advantage of the lack of a bus terminal in the area and large groceries/supermarkets opening.

Even the Country Club has opened a branch on Sarjapur Road.

It is only a matter of time then, that the IT corridor becomes as sought after as the several posh suburbs that have sprung up in the city. Who says there's a recession in the IT industry?