In 1985, Vijay Sharma spent Rs250,000 on 3,600 sq ft of land in Gurgaon, a satellite town emerging from the wilderness an hour outside New Delhi. In 2002, he accepted an offer of Rs4m for the plot and spent a good few months feeling smug about his profits. Today the parcel is worth more than 10 times that figure and Sharma is spending Rs130,000 (£1,500) each month renting a three-bedroom apartment in the area.
Property prices outside the Indian capital have been soaring for some years now. Economic models dictate that where there is a growing population and limited land a rise in property prices is inevitable, leading to urban sprawl. Though an economist wouldn’t consider the phenomenon noteworthy, anyone living in Delhi – Sharma, especially – would beg to differ.
Gurgaon and Noida are two satellite towns, to the southwest and southeast of Delhi respectively. Initially catering for overflow from the capital in the 1980s, they now attract investors in their own right. Several multinationals have set up shop and modern, self-sufficient developments have sprung up. And apartments are available for between Rs2,000 (£23) and Rs15,000 (£173) per sq ft, far more reasonable than anything in Delhi itself.