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Global office spaces keep Whitefield, the IT hub, in high demand among home buyers
The future of Whitefield was inscribed in its history. It came up as a settlement of Europeans at the end of the 19th century. Till late 1980s, it was a quaint little village and few could see the world coming here. In a decade, it had started emerging as the global centre of information technology.
Whitefield, also known as ‘ New Bangalore’, has been witnessing a growth in the IT space since early 1990s, but things took a definite turn from the start of the millennium, when companies looked for more office space. The availability of Grade A buildings and good roads were key demand drivers. It has large IT parks such as the International Tech Park Bangalore, Prestige Shantiniketan, the Export Promotion Industrial Park, Brigade Tech Park, Sigma IT Park and Bhoruka Tech Park which house reputed companies such as Dell, IBM, Intel, Oracle and Tata Consultancy Services. It has a total stock of 21.6 million sq ft, which is about 32 per cent of the total Grade A office stock of Bangalore city. One of the key attractions for global businesses has been ready- to- occupy, international-standard office spaces here, says property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle. This has led to a spike in home prices.
An advantage for Whitefield was the availability of numerous developable land parcels. In the residential market, developers such as the Prestige Group, Brigade Group, Puravankara Group and Sobha Developers came in to build both affordable and luxury homes.
Proximity to the workplace saw strong demand from the rising mid-income and upper mid-income population. Malls such as Forum Value, Inorbit, Park Square and Phoenix Market City offer modern shopping experience and entertainment. Property prices in Whitefield average Rs 4,516 per sq ft, according to realty portal Magicbricks.com.
With land available for more development, Whitefield is expected to see higher demand both in office and home space, leading to further rise in property prices.
However, Whitefield has to deal with certain shortfalls too. One is the acute water crisis in some parts. With borewells in the region exploited to the hilt, local residents have to pay exorbitant rates for supply of drinking water by tankers. Such shortfalls can turn away potential investors.