Reichert69
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| Wed Nov 14, 2007 7:48 am Real estate prices crash in Munnar area |
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Real estate prices in the Munnar area have crashed in the wake of the extensive eviction of land-grabbers and the general suspicion that a substantial number of the new villa projects, Kochi flats and apartment buildings could actually be standing on encroached land.
Already, in just a few days after the land-grab scam surfaced, prices of un-built-up commercial land and agricultural land meant for future construction on the outskirts of Munnar town have fallen by a quarter, according to real estate sources in Munnar, Kochi and Adimali. The prices of villas and flats, which peaked in the past few months, have fallen by a tenth. The land-grab scam has poured water on the overheated real estate sector in the entire Idukki district.
The real estate prices in Munnar had been overheated before the revelation of large-scale land-grab in the hill station and the quick eviction that followed. Prices had skyrocketed and brokers say that the prices at times equalled those in Kochi city. Land sharks, mainly from the Kochi region, had invested hundreds of crores of rupees. Of course, the actual land prices never got reflected in the land registration documents. The majority of the resorts, new villa projects and apartment buildings in the Munnar region were standing on encroached land, but their owners had secured fake pattayams. This could come to the open during the ongoing scrutiny of land documents.
Land prices had been steadily increasing in Munnar from late 1980s because of the tourism potential of the hill station. But the `resort boom,' which began in the 1990s, picked up momentum in the past four or five years and has sent land prices to dizzying heights.But, when the land prices went up in Munnar and other areas such as Vagamon, farmhouses were no longer affordable.
To fill in this need, arrived the villas and apartments with fancy names that played on Munnar's mist and cool. Many of these villas and apartments, built by Kochi builders, were advertised as "a second home in the misty mountains." How many of these farmhouses and villas stand on encroached land or had fake pattayams would be revealed in the verification of documents. |
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