Dream houses become affordable in Chennai

Sam Daniel

Wednesday, December 10, 2008, (Chennai)

A dream home in Chennai has become a lot cheaper. Hit hard by the financial meltdown, the construction industry is trying hard to get back to brisk business through affordable housing.

Now, the new price tags are a little over Rs nine lakh for a 450 sq ft single bedroom apartment and Rs 14 lakh for a 900 sq feet two bedroom apartment.

"Every builder has to re-look both the pricing, the size of the apartments and who are they targetting. Then the volume can never fall down, at least for another five years," said Padam Dugar, Director, Dugar Housing Developments Pvt Ltd.

The offer, promoters say, is a sell out. All the 240 flats on offer have been booked.

"It's affordable. The EMIs will be around Rs 12,000 to 15,000," said a happy prospective buyer.

Industry insiders say the price could drop further by 25 per cent if the government reduces loan rates and waives a slew of taxes that account for forty per cent of the price.

"If the government reduces that, the cost will also come down substantially. Promoters will build lots of houses, and the common many can buy," said C Subba Reddy, from Ceebros Property Development Pvt Ltd.

Affordable housing is becoming a priority for the construction industry to survive the economic slowdown. And for the large middleclass this could be the right time to own their dream home