Villa rentals cross Rs 10 lakh in Bangalore

For those who curse Doha for the inflation and rents, just have a look on the below article and relax... at least we are not living in India…

By siliconindia news bureau
Wednesday, October 29,

Bangalore: No talks about the recession that grips the world now. Rentals for some exclusive homes in certain gated communities in Bangalore have risen to over Rs 10 lakh.

Epsilon Villas is one of them that exists off the old Airport Road. Soon to be home to former India cricket captain Rahul Dravid, this gated community has, among others, Sunil Alagh, former Britannia Industries MD, as a home owner. At Epsilon, the average rental is said to be around Rs 7 lakh per month going up to Rs 10 lakh plus. Cisco's senior-most executive in India Wim Elfrink reportedly pays Rs 17-lakh monthly rent, which is said to be the highest in the city, for his home-cum-office. His villa, one of the biggest at Epsilon, has a huge backyard with a swimming pool.

Rents range between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh per month at 'Palm Meadows,' one of Bangalore's earliest luxury, gated communities. At Mantri Altius, a luxury condominium in the heart of the city, average rental is around Rs 2.5 lakh per month. Most of these homes are occupied by senior, expat professionals working in Bangalore.

There are instances where many expats have made getting a house in gated community a must requirement before accepting a Bangalore posting.

Jitu Virwani, Chairman, Embassy Group, says, "Contrary to the general impression, expensive software jobs are in Bangalore today. The expats coming here are very senior people in their organizations. They want the same standard of living they had back home. They also want independent housing with amenities like swimming pool and gym which are not available outside gated communities."

In most of these developments, price per sq ft becomes an irrelevant criterion the huge premium will go for the 'right address', for facilities of international standard which unavailable in other properties. An Epsilon villa, for instance, listed with a property site says it offers a 110V electrical line (standard Indian power lines are 220V) so that American gadgets can be plugged in straight away. Plot size is of over 10,000 sq ft with built-up area of 8000 sq ft. It involves four bedrooms with attached baths and walk-in closets, five bathrooms, two servant rooms, bar, barbeque area, steam, massage room, gazebo, attic, and other frills.

Source: The Economic Times (Authored by Asha Rai & Anshul Dhamija)