Kochi grabs top slot as real estate destination: PropEquity report

NEW DELHI: Just like their bigger counterparts, southern tier II cities have also outperformed their northern peers as top residential real estate destinations, with Kochi grabbing the top spot, according to a new report by property research firm PropEquity.

"Much like tier I cities, northern tier II cities are also marred by project delays, expensive properties and a demand and supply mismatch," said Samir Jasuja, managing director and founder, PropEquity, adding, "Southern India has traditionally been an end users market, which has kept its property prices in check and relatively affordable."

All other five southern tier II cities surveyed – Vishakapatnam (rank 3), Thiruvananthapuram (5), Mangalore (7), Goa (9) and Coimbatore (10) – featured in the top 10 cities, while only one city from the north – Jaipur (6) – managed to be in the top 10. The bottom four cities were all north Indian cities – of Agra, Lucknow, Bhiwadi and Mohali. Kochi is followed by Nashik at 2 and Vadodara at 4, both from western India. Regionally, south is at the top, followed by west and central India. Despite a significant slowdown in the sector across India over the last two years, from March 2013 to March 2015 the launch prices have continued to rise unabated for most tier II cities.