BENGALURU: With many IT and startup employees returning to the city to work from an office at least once or twice a week in hybrid mode, there has been a considerable spike in housing rents. According to real estate watchers, residential rents in prominent markets will go up anywhere between 5% and 12% in 2023.
At the peak of the pandemic, many employees with their families had left the city, resulting in plummeting rents. As per ANAROCK Research, for a 2BHK of 1,000 sqft, the average rent hovers around Rs 27,000 (excluding maintenance) on Sarjapur Road, which is estimated to increase by 7-12% this year.
ANAROCK report also shows that Whitefield recorded about 18% average rental growth – from Rs 19,000 per month in 2019 to Rs 22,500 per month in 2022. Rajaji Nagar saw 16% rise in average monthly rent for luxury homes - from Rs 56,000 in 2019 to Rs 65,000 per month in 2022. According to NoBroker data, in Varthur, the rent has jumped from Rs 24,500 in January 2023 to Rs 26,500 in March.
Saurabh Garg, co-founder and Chief Business Officer, NoBroker, attributed the rise in rent due to demand-supply mismatch, but said that it will settle down in a few months.
Construction activities had slowed down during the pandemic, but with employees returning, the demand-supply mismatch is now highest in Bengaluru. Garg said the trend has also been seen in Pune and Hyderabad, and particularly in areas near IT parks.
“Demand in city has not only breached the pre-pandemic levels but has exceeded it. In fact, in many housing societies, there are hardly any vacancies now, and rents have soared by at least 15-20% relative to pre-pandemic levels. A few societies have seen a rise of more than 30%,” said Ashish Sharma, city head, Bengaluru, ANAROCK Group.
The surge is more prominent near IT parks around the Outer Ring Road, Bellandur and Manyata Tech Park. Over half a million professionals are employed along the ORR.
“The city is home to 1.5 million workers from the tech sector, and hence high disposable incomes are leading to greater demand for homes and higher rents. Rents have once again gone up to 30-50% in some localities. There is an overwhelming demand for gated communities,” said Ramani Sastri, chairman and MD, Sterling Developers.