India Focus: Mysore - new destination for builders

Mysore today is still regal. The old buildings speak of an era of royalty, pomp, splendour and plenty. Though all that has been replaced by the hoi polloi, squalor and poverty to a large extent, it remains an attractive city.

And today, given its proximity and contrast to Bangalore, it is becoming even more attractive in terms of education, as a work place and a residential option.

Taking over from Bangalore as the pensioner's paradise, this city, less than three hours by road from the State capital, has now become an important destination for builders and realtors. The peace and tranquility, the relatively low pollution levels and availability of inexpensive property - both commercial and residential - has made the city a very viable alternative to Bangalore.

Tired of the congestion in Bangalore, more and more software companies and other multinationals are making their way to Mysore. "Not only do they find that Mysore is a lot quieter and cleaner, but also realise that it is a lot less expensive," says S.N. Mahesh, a real estate consultant in Mysore.

Land is available for as little as Rs. 500 per square foot in a prestigious residential area like V.V. Mohalla, even slightly lesser in Jayalakshmipuram. Even the newly organised, fairly posh layout, Vijaynagar comes at a little over Rs. 300.

On the commercial front, you could get a place in Sayyajirao area for about Rs. 5,000 a square foot, with Devaraj Urs Road at about Rs. 4,000 and Ashoka Road at Rs. 3,500 or so.

Another factor that has helped is the recent decision of the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to hand over title deeds directly to the owners on the day the site is allotted.

Earlier, the MUDA used to allot sites on lease, and sellers were forced to wait for more than ten years to sell their allotted sites. Now, as they no longer need to do business under the guise of 'general power of attorney' or GPA, genuine buyers are being attracted.

"The GPA kept genuine buyers at bay as banks and other government agencies refused to finance these deals due to lack of title deeds," explains Mahesh.

Obviously, there is a lot of hectic activity going on in the city today. According to a builder, N. Somashekar, in the recent past, several NRIs, the salaried class from various parts of the country have been looking at Mysore as a post-retirement option.

Rents are quite decent today and that makes an investment in Mysore even more attractive according to him. "If you buy a flat for Rs1.2 million, you have to pay a monthly installment of about Rs12,000.

You could get at least half that money back by renting it out," Somashekar points out. This has prompted several upper middle class professionals to put their money in Mysore, he says.

This has naturally brought in several builders and all of them are working on some project or the other. "The typically South Indian culture of peace and harmony is what attracts people to Mysore," says Mahesh.

It may not have the 'hip' crowd or the pubs of Bangalore, but it certainly makes for a very peaceful place, both to work and live in, he adds.

The sprawling Manasagangotri campus of the Mysore University, the several schools and colleges offering a range in education make it even more attractive to the family man.

According to both Mahesh and Somashekar, the Mysore attraction will hold good at least for another ten to fifteen years, if not more. Especially after the several tax sops and the new, lower percentage of registration fees that the central and state governments have announced.

Kanchan Kaur is a Bangalore-based journalist specialising in property and real estate.