by : George Gonigal

With the New Delhi Municipal Corporation's (NDMC) recent administrative approval and sanctioning of funds for the Connaught Place (CP) re-development project, property prices this Central Business District (CBD) of national capital Delhi may see a jump again. Though, the NDMC estimates that the project will be completed by July 2010, retailers feel that property prices may see a jump even before that as the project is executed block-by-block.

As per MagicBricks studies, the rentals for commercial properties in CP are between Rs 250 and Rs 1,000 per sq. ft at present, with the middle circle demanding the lowest price and the inner circle the highest. Most of the real estate transactions in CP are for rental purposes only and there is very little or almost no sale purchase transaction happening. As most of the property owners in CP have been present here since over two decades, all feel that it is worth retaining the property as it not only yields higher returns but also the capital value keeps increasing multifold.

As far as tenants are concerned they are more than happy by occupying a space in one of the busiest and most frequented markets of the capital. For many retailers, the investment has not been disappointing at all. After all, the average daily sales here cross Rs one lakh, and there is no reason to complain. For some retailers who have not managed to leverage the location well, still fell that property in CP is worth the buck, as a mere presence in this CBD takes care of the high property prices.

Interestingly, with the coming up of metro in the CP inner circle, many retailers have moved out of the outer circle and have setup shops of same or even bigger size in the inner circle. While, the outer circle is now flocked with offices of travel agents, proprietors, banks and others, the inner circle is buzzing with top brands of apparels, watches, electronics and restaurants. Similar to other markets, coming up of metro has pushed the overall real estate prices in CP inner circle.

With the recent approval for up-gradation of services and faÃ?ade restoration along with traffic management it would be worth waiting to see if any another trend of this kind emerges.

For now it can be safely assumed that even with the sky rocketing property prices in Delhi-CP, retailers will still cling on to the property mainly to ensure sound presence in the heartland of Delhi.

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