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            Real Estate in Devanahalli- North Bangalore- Report in                                Economic Times -  10th February, 2013

Just a few years back, before the International Airport at Devanahalli in Bangalore opened up to airline traffic, the areas around the Airport  were under agricultural use or just barren lands. Here is a report from Economic Times about the lightning change to the land values making land owners rich The trend has not slowed down, but only increasing, with the infrastructural developments. The report can be verified with Economic Times, with the links provided in the report. 

It would be a prudent decision to invest in lands and plots in North Bangalore.

BANGALORE

Neenu Abraham

From the time she can recollect, Narayanamma has worked as a maid in the house of Vinod John, an agriculturist, who lives with his family in Hebbal, about 10 km from Bangalore. Until some years ago, Narayanamma would take leave when the rains arrived to go back to her village to sow ragi seeds on her four-acre plot in Devanahalli on the outskirts of Bangalore. But lack of ground water forced her to give up farming and become a full-time maid.

Then the Bangalore International Airport came up near Devanahalli. Soon, MNCs started buying land in and around the town. What was worth Rs 20,000-40,000 an acre skyrocketed to at least Rs 5-6 crore in a matter of months. "Narayanamma, who had never seen more than Rs 1,000 in her life, had property worth Rs 40-50 crore. She had enough money to buy my entire property," says John.

Hot Wheels

While John's family helped Narayanamma invest her money, her neighbours weren't that lucky. After cutting lucrative deals with real estate agents, they started buying SUVs, with Toyota's Innova being the hot favourite. "If you drive through the interior parts of Devanahalli and Hoskote, you may even spot a new Audiparked near a cowshed," says John. Narayanamma describes how her neighbours replaced their thatched, cowdung-plastered houses with marble floors and cement roofs. "Many of the women started buying goldjewellery," she says.

Chinnaswami, who sold his small parcel of land in Devanahalli, never got past middle school. He claims to be a real estate agent, like many of his friends. Many residents, who were unemployed and had to wait for the rains or the grape-picking season to find some work, turned real estate agents overnight. Some farmers who were quick to realise that they were sitting on a pot of gold started selling small parcels of land. "They became local chiefs overnight, calling themselves Patels," says a real estate broker. "They started offering loans to small farmers. Subsequently, they started buying their land," he says. The rise of these "Patels" has created a land mafia in the region. The smaller farmers are now at the mercy of this network.

In Land We Trust

Many farmers sitting on idle cash started investing in land in the vicinity. Some started buying land in the neighbouring Tumkur district where prices were still as low as Rs 4-5 lakh an acre. "The sight of farmers from Devanahalli and Hoskote coming in their huge SUVs is common in Tumkur," says Siddaganga Gowda, a farmer. But what about savings? Chinnaswami doesn't trust the banks. So he invests in land. A good part of his savings is invested in gold jewellery. It is easy to identify the areas where farmers have struck gold, says Chinnaswami. "Just look out for the SUVs," he says



                                              
                                    Narayanamma- maid servant who owned land in Bangalore North