Will The Film City Project Close To Jewar Will Enhance The Real Estate Market in Noida, Greater Noida & Yamuna Expressway?

After Jewar airport, there will be another feather on Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority’s cap. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that a 1,000-acre plot located just about 6 km from the proposed Jewar International Airport, has been identified for a film city project.

While this is expected to revive the fortunes of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway real estate market that has taken a beating especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the real benefits in terms of price appreciation and increased infrastructure activity will only be witnessed once construction gets underway, say real estate experts.

Besides the commercial segment which is expected to see a spurt in demand, the residential category which may benefit from this project would be the luxury segment, say experts.

“Similar to any mega infrastructure project, proposed film city too will help in reviving the property market in nearby areas like Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway. However, the ‘real’ benefits – in terms of price appreciation and heightened real estate activity in residential, commercial and retail will be seen only once the project sees visible signs of construction activity or nears completion,” Santosh Kumar, vice chairman, Anarock Property Consultants told Moneycontrol.

For instance, property prices in Ayodhya shot up 25-30 percent back in 2019 when the SC verdict was announced and then almost doubled when the temple ‘poojan’ was done back in August.

In this case there was some activity or progress that happened. “Likewise, even while the film city project has been announced and the area for it has also been identified, we need to see some ground activity for property prices to scale up significantly. Those having land parcels nearby or even the investors will be in a wait and watch mode,” he explained.

The site is located in Sector 21 along the Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Budh Nagar which is barely an hour’s drive from Delhi. According to the presentation, of the 1000 acres, 220 acres would be kept aside for commercial activity.

“The site is also located close to the proposed logistic hub in Noida, the proposed dry port and freight corridor, thus providing all facilities of transport and movement,” chief minister Yogi Adityanath had said on September 22.

The region would also boast of an international electronics city and a global financial hub in the coming years.

The Jewar international airport is expected to be functional by 2023. While there is no official date with regard to the completion of the film city project, sources said that it could be ready by 2023.

The land identified for the project was among three proposals submitted by the Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authorities.

Will the announcement help mitigate the impact of COVID-19?

Even before this announcement, real estate activity was already beginning to pick momentum in the NCR region. Housing enquiries in Gurgaon have reached almost the same as the pre-COVID-19 levels while in Noida and Greater Noida enquiries are back at more than 80 percent. “It will be the progress of the project that will determine its impact on the property market and the trends therein,” Kumar said.

The proposed Film City is likely to boost investment sentiments across Uttar Pradesh, particularly in areas adjoining Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway.

“This bodes well for the real estate sector and it is likely to have a positive impact on demand for both residential as well as commercial properties. Along with upcoming Jewar Airport, the proposed Film City is expected to provide a new lease of life to existing projects and will boost new project offerings immensely,” said Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, Housing.com

The proposed Film City is located close to Gaurs Group’s integrated township, Gaur Yamuna City on Yamuna Expressway. “Such developments will bring positive momentum in developments and investments. This announcement would be a boon for the region both in terms of residential and commercial development. Post Jewar Airport, this is the biggest announcement for the region and we hope that the work starts soon,” said Manoj Gaur, MD, Gaurs Group.

Some experts say that the initiative is bound to improve economic activity in the region and have a major “economic multiplier effect on the local economy,” said Amit Modi, Director ABA Corp & President (elect), CREDAI Western UP.

“It will not only attract the best talent involved in the filmmaking process, but also millions of support staff and workers, who will be looking for accommodation in the region. We feel it will have a huge impact in both owned, rental, office and commercial real estate in the regions where national production houses will also be opening their satellite offices to support the filmmaking process. It is indeed a welcome step and will open gates of opportunities for the regional real estate market,” said Modi.

There may also be a possibility that once the Noida Film City is running in full force, a lot of celebrities would want to invest in and around the region for the want of easy access and reach, he said.

According to Deepak Kapoor, director, Gulshan Homz, Noida will emerge as the most robust luxury real estate destination after the film city comes about.

The demand for customized penthouses, villas, and farmhouses in the region is likely to go up in the region. The wellness home concept will also witness demand, he said.

The recently proposed plan by UP Govt. development of Film City in Sector-21 of Yamuna Expressway is going to be a monumental step in making the region of Noida the biggest entertainment and business hub of North India. It will go a long way in creating job opportunities and also transform the face and scale of real estate developments planned in the area, said Ashish Bhutani, CEO – Bhutani Infra.

Will the announcement enable Noida to finally overtake Gurgaon?

Both property markets are actually independent and it is not as if Noida will overtake Gurgaon, or vice versa, say real estate experts.

Having said this, Noida and Greater Noida still have scope for growth as property prices here are far more affordable in comparison to its counterpart in Haryana. As per ANAROCK research, the average property prices in Noida are around Rs 4,795 per sq. ft. while in Greater Noida it is Rs 3,350 per sq. ft. As for Gurgaon, the average prices hover at Rs 6,100 per sq. ft, says Kumar from Anarock.

According to an earlier report released by Knight Frank, the impact of the pandemic has been so drastic that Gurugram was pushed to second place for the first time in seven years in office leasing activity in the first half of this year. According to the report, more office space was leased in Noida in January-June as supply was available at much lower rentals in the satellite city.

According to the report, 0.92 million sq ft office space was leased in Gurugram in the first six months of 2020 compared with 1.08 million sq ft in Noida. Noida outperformed Gurugram in terms of overall transactions and became the highest contributor to gross leasing in the National Capital Region market, posting a year-on-year increase of 86 percent. This came on the heels of a 45 percent decline in gross leasing by area in the NCR in the first six months of 2020.

“Demand for office spaces has been growing in Noida mainly due to relatively high rentals in Gurugram’s established office space locations such as DLF Cyber City, Golf Course Road, MG Road and Udyog Vihar,” the Knight Frank report had said.

Better infrastructure, including roads, improved metro rail connectivity and competitive rentals helped Noida pip Gurugram, it said.

(Source: Moneycontrol)