Bengaluru, commonly referred to as India's Silicon Valley, has been a magnet for IT professionals, students and job seekers from around the country and abroad for more than 20 years now. But with the rapid growth in the city and the tech ecosystem thriving there is now a big problem affordable housing is increasingly out of reach for the average resident.
Over the last few years, property prices and rental rates have soared in Bengaluru with demand from the IT-based workforce and increasing tech corridors such as the Outer Ring Road. The areas near the main IT centres have experienced the sharpest increases, making it very hard even for high-earning professionals to find reasonably priced homes.
In fact, a city resident wrote on social media a recent post to describe the process of finding a 2BHK apartment in Bengaluru as a “nightmare.” One of the users said a flat priced at ₹1.4 crore just three years ago has soared to nearly ₹2 crore despite the problems. At the end of the day the apartment is located near a large drainage canal and has poor infrastructure but is in high demand as it is near IT companies.
Rental prices are even worse. A relatively inexpensive apartment that was a few years ago now has rents over ₹70,000 a month. The increases are putting immense financial pressure on tenants young professionals and middle-class families looking to balance living costs with savings.
Most of the residents are frustrated with the mismatch between pricing and living conditions. Many apartment complexes still depend on tanker water supply and road infrastructure in some areas are still lacking, and in some areas there is not enough road infrastructure. But landlords have no choice but to raise the prices of housing to match that and continue to charge higher prices as their city’s ever-growing demand for housing is growing even if not more acute.
And for people who’re about to buy a property, the situation is no less fraught. For people who were hoping to save a few years to invest in buying a home, their dreams are not going to happen. The rapid appreciation of property prices means that by the time the buyers have saved up enough money to do that, the price is already up a lot.
Housing demand in Bengaluru’s market is driven by various reasons such as lack of land in prime areas, high demand from IT professionals and speculative investment, experts say, among others. That’s helped the real estate sector in the city, but it’s also widened the affordability gap in the city’s real estate industry.
As Bengaluru becomes such a global tech megaplex, it becomes even more urgent that balanced urban planning and affordable housing solutions be achieved. Without intervention, many people are going to soon find it difficult to enjoy owning a decent home or even renting one in the city.
For now, people are left to negotiate a tough market where finding a good home is not only very difficult but wears on people and is increasingly expensive.
