Under his pledge to put Uttar Pradesh on the growth path, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently announced a film city to be built on a 1,000-acre plot located just about 6 km from the proposed Jewar International Airport. The announcement of the film city has caught investors’ attention in the real estate sector which in turn is being linked to an expected boost in property prices in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway.
But the question remains whether the proposed Noida Film City will be able to turn around the slowdown in the property market in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway?
Noida Film City: Site and Location
The site of newly announced Noida Film City is located in Sector 21, along the Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Budh Nagar. According to the reports, out of the 1,000 acres, 220 acres will be kept aside for commercial activity.
The site is also located close to the proposed logistics hub in Noida, which consists of a dry port and freight corridor. The adjoining Jewar international airport is expected to be functional by 2023 while the entertainment city is expected to take off by next year.
While there is no official date with regard to the completion of the film city project, sources said that if all goes well, it could be ready by 2023.
Present Real Estate Around Proposed Noida Film City
The Yamuna Expressway has seen launches of approximately 50,100 units between 2013 till date, of which over 19 percent is ready-to-move-in while another 19 percent is expected to be ready within the next 12 months. The remaining 62 percent is expected to take more than one year to complete.
The average property prices are currently around Rs 3,000 per sq. ft., while the average size of properties is 1,200 sq. ft.
The proposed Film City is located close to Gaurs Group’s integrated township, Gaur Yamuna City on Yamuna Expressway. Supertech is executing two projects close to the film city offering 14000 apartments and commercial space at an investment of Rs 4000 crore in the 200 acre township.
Other housing projects are Shubham Jewar City, Ajnara London Square, ATS Allure, and a few more.
Noida Film City: Effects On Real Estate Market
Just like everywhere else, the real estate market in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway was badly hit by the pandemic. Developers in the NCR are struggling with cash flows as Covid-19 has halted the sales like never before.
Even before the pandemic-induced slowdown, Noida and Greater Noida were facing inventory pile up. A slew of unfinished and stalled housing projects have made some sectors of Noida and Greater Noida appear like deserted ghost towns. Fund diversion, lack of regulatory oversight, confusing land buying rules, abundant supply, a credit crunch and collapsing returns are some of the reasons for projects being stalled midway.
In some areas, the basic ecosystem for habitation is missing. Some of these lesser inhabited places also have major law and order issues.
The announcement of Film City has indeed created buzz in the queries in the property market. However, the real benefits in terms of price appreciation and increased infrastructure activity will only be witnessed once its construction gets underway and becomes visible.
The average property prices are currently around Rs 3,000 per sq. ft which is expected to inch up by 15-20 percent to the Rs 3,500-Rs 3,800 per sq. ft. range.
For homebuyers wanting to invest in ready-to-move-in units in the area, physical infrastructure and the commute will continue to be a challenge. Real estate experts are of the view that for homebuyers who are looking at a four- to five-year horizon and not wanting to move in immediately, can think about investing in a residential property in the area.
For those looking for long term investment opportunities, investing in studio apartment category might turn out to be a good deal. Owing to dual development of Jewar airport and Film City, employment opportunities in Yamuna Expressway are going to scale up by 2024 and so is the commercial as well as residential activity.
“Most modern film cities require larger layouts and massive planning due to which they can come up only on the outskirts of main cities. As is the case with Universal Studios located in Singapore, these areas are major employment and tourism hubs. The Noida film city, too, once developed, may lead to job creation and attract migrants to settle in the area. It may also become a major tourism attraction,” Money Control quoted Ritesh Mehta, Senior Director & Head – West India, Residential Services, JLL India, as saying.
If the development of the film city takes off as per planned timelines, hotels and high-street formats are also likely to do well in this area apart from studio apartment homes but over a four- to five-year period.
Noida Film City: Who Should Invest
Unless and until the government does not announce some parallel public transportation projects, and extend the metro line all the way to the airport and the proposed film city, the real estate market in the area is not going to witness any massive shift in the coming few quarters.
The Yamuna Expressway is a mid-to-long term bet. Both the airport and the film city are projects that will take five years to develop. For those scouting for ready-to-move-in options right away in a livable and developed area, there are some very good opportunities available in Noida Extension in Greater Noida, Raj Nagar and Crossings Republik at similar prices.
Read on to catch the nerve of Noida real estate market.