Yelahanka, Bengaluru: Choose from apartments, plotted developments

Realty development in Yelahanka has scaled up considerably over the past few years, especially after the international airport relocated to North Bengaluru

As the Bengaluru real estate market is in expansion mode, new suburbs are emerging as new real estate destinations. The international airport has been a primary driver, leading to the emergence of many new locations in north Bengaluru. Yelahanka, a suburb of North Bengaluru, is one such emerging realty hotspot.

Once considered a distant satellite town on the outskirts of Bengaluru, it is now part of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), the civic body of greater Bengaluru. Real estate development in Yelahanka has scaled up considerably over the past few years, especially after the international airport relocated to North Bengaluru. Yelahanka has now become the focal point for many large real estate developers, which have launched large scale construction activities. Capital values of residential apartments in this area have soared in recent times, and demand is at an all-time high.

In previous times, real estate development in and around Yelahanka was largely driven by the manufacturing sector. This changed when the Kempegowda International Airport relocated. This one event opened the doors of opportunity for office and mixed use developments along the highway NH-7 connecting Yelahanka and the airport.

When the airport relocation was first announced, many new locations began throwing up residential options. Some have turned into real new growth corridors with good potential for good capital appreciation and the Yelahanka-Doddaballapur Road stretch is one them. Today, developers such as Prestige, Ramky and NCC are actively in the fray here and have launched residential projects in Yelahanka.

Apartments tend to be priced between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,500 a sq ft in this locality. Apart from the apartment projects, Yelahanka also has many plotted development options on offer. It should be borne in mind that Yelahanka is still at the beginning of its evolution as a real estate destination. For this reason, appreciation in prices has been marginal so far. However, as the special economic zone (SEZ) and mixed use developments along the NH-7 start operations, Yelahanka's property market will see much more traction.

As of now, the key mixed use developments along NH-7 are Hinduja Ecopolis and RMZ Galleria. IT Park and SEZ developments, along with the excellent connectivity to the airport, have spurred investment sentiments for this location. The availability of large land parcels for township-sized projects and good rail and road connectivity with the core city have also helped a lot. The availability of social infrastructure such as hospitals and quality educational institutes in Yelahanka has also supported the real estate growth story in this region.

The author is managing director - South, JLL India