Assetz® News - India - the star of 2008?

India - the star of 2008?

2nd January 2008 |

The international property market has seen many countries rise and fall as the latest hot prospect. Varying economic conditions, new membership of the European Union, developments in tourism and transport infrastructure all have an effect on the fortunes of the property prospects of any country or region.

It is for this reason that investors look at northern France after the advent of the new, faster Eurostar, Valencia's new marina and Grand Prix circuit may attract boating and motor sport enthusiasts, Cape Verde can enjoy the fruits of more tourists and new airports and Cyprus can revel in the economic security it has now attained as a eurozone member.

New, emerging economies have attracted plenty of investment in recent years, but those in eastern Europe are now poised to be surpassed by that of India, it has been suggested.

One of the two booming behemoths of Asia, whose growth may have the wider effect of bolstering the post-credit crunch world economy, India's property market looks a good bet for 2008, according to the chief executive officer of property portal Homesgofast.co.uk, Nicholas Marr.

"Bulgaria has died down a lot, it was all the rage last year. It's almost like a fashion, and India is definitely on the agenda for next year," he said in late December, suggesting the appeal of the new European Union states is on the wane.

In particular, he noted, Delhi and Mumbai were good locations: "There are many off-plan opportunities there. The prices are good."

Mr Marr added that a good place to invest overseas was always one which offered a dual exit strategy in the event of the investor needing to sell, with both a local and international market in which part of a portfolio could be offloaded.

"Somewhere like Mumbai and Delhi would attract both; an international market because it is cheap and the local community who are looking for new properties, so there is a good exit strategy there," he explained.

Delhi, of course, has good reason to look forward. As well as the general economic growth of India, the city has gained a higher profile as a result of being chosen to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As with Manchester's hosting of the same event in 2002, Glasgow's status as host in 2014 and the London Olympics, this is a situation which is helping the city's development, one obvious example being the boost to visitor numbers and the provision of extra tourist accommodation which has been prompted. Visitors to Delhi in 2010 will find a city with 3,000 more hotel beds than at present.

As for Mumbai, the potential for house prices to rise is large. A report in the Times noted that the city needs 84,000 new homes a year, yet only 55,000 are being built, while at the same time the number of people able to afford western standards of living has risen rapidly as a result of economic growth. In India, there is a market even the credit crunch, it seems, will not be able to halt.