‘Money can buy you everything but love’. Really? Try buying a bungalow in Delhi’s Lutyens Zone, Mumbai’s Malabar Hill, Chennai’s Poes Garden, Kolkata’s Alipore, Bengaluru’s Koramangala or Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills. Chances are you will join a long waiting list of moneybags willing to give an arm and a leg to buy property in these tony addresses. “In some cases, the wait could last a few years,” says Om Ahuja, CEO — Residential Services, JLL.

With good reason; these posh areas, home to the country’s rich, famous and powerful, are coveted by all those seeking to make a statement.

The finest wines, the priciest cars, the costliest weddings — all these could be yours for the asking if you have the money in hand. But an address with the elite pincodes — that’s real exclusivity and separates the men from the boys.

It is synonymous with having truly arrived — bestows bragging rights. You may live in the property only sparingly like steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal does at his Lutyen’s Zone bungalow, but your nameplate at the pincode sure will make heads turn.

Supply, location, exclusivity

Pincode snobbery is a global phenomenon, as prevalent in India as elsewhere in the world. That’s why your longing for a swish pincode could remain unrequited unless you have serious money to outbid competition, lots of patience and luck on your side. For starters, the stock is in short supply.

One of the important markers of expensive pincodes is less population density — no milling crowds and no jostling with the hoi polloi.

The number of residences in the traditional exclusive pincodes would be few, probably in the double digits, says JLL’s Om Ahuja. And those who own them rarely sell.

This effectively makes these pincodes are akin to closed clubs. Shveta Jain, Executive Director, Residential Services, Cushman & Wakefield, says, “Most of these micro-markets have paucity of supply of properties with clear title at the right value.”

So, what makes a pincode exclusive? Is it, like other real estate, all about ‘location, location, location’? Sahil Mehta, Head of Business Development – Indian subcontinent, Wealth-X thinks so.

He says, “Location is of paramount importance to the ultra-wealthy. The most expensive neighbourhoods command their premium largely due to location. For example, locations such as Altamount Road, Breach Candy and Napean Sea Road in Mumbai still command a premium over other emerging neighbourhoods, such as the Lower Parel belt that provide very high-end projects (gated communities).”

Nor do these sought-after locations change over the years. Sveta Jain says, “In the top five-six cities of the country, you will find that key nerve centres have been the flavour since independence and continue to be so for end-use by the rich and famous.” She adds, “Despite developments in new locations with possibly better quality, the appeal of the old locations still prevails.”

Elite appeal

For instance, she says, no other location in Delhi is comparable to the original Lutyens Zone, Aurangzeb Road, Amrita Shergill Marg and Chanakyapuri.

Top-of-the-line physical and social infrastructure, proximity to the seats of power in government, high security zones, and elite occupant profile remain major draws for the who’s who.

According to Sveta Jain, restrictions on floor space index (FSI) in these areas preclude redevelopment of bungalows into apartments — this adds to the scarcityfactor. In other areas where bungalows have got converted, the appeal has diminished.

Mumbai, though, is a bit of an exception to the rule, she says. The traditional elite areas in South Mumbai, such as Altamount Road and Pedder Road are still preferred by those conscious about their address.

But pockets in the suburbs such as Juhu (home to Bollywood stars) and Bandra (close to the Bandra Kurla Complex business district to where a lot of the action has shifted from South Mumbai) too come under the elite category. In business-driven Maximum City where commutes can be long and time short, workplace proximity also determines pincode desirability.

Om Ahuja feels that there is no thumb-rule that defines an exclusive pincode. He says that these pincodes fall under two categories — the existing zones, say, areas such as Poes Garden and Boat Club Road in Chennai, and the emerging zone, for instance, the East Coast Road in the city where celebrities and the rich prefer large homes.

“The old exclusive pincodes are not replaceable. But new pincodes are added even as the old ones continue,” he adds.

Flocking together

Elite pincodes, whether existing or emerging, have a common thread though — elite occupant profile. Like birds of a feather, the wealthy and the known seek out the company of those with similar or higher stature.

In a recent write-up on luxury homes, Om Ahuja says, “A luxury home buyer expects to live among people of a certain grade of professional accomplishment, prominence and social standing.

It is, in fact, the desire to be part of a select peer group.” This applies to elite pincodes as well. A little birdie tells us that following Vidya Balan moving into her new apartment in Juhu after marriage, the square foot rate there shot up to ₹100,000 a sq ft.

It may add to your snob value, but does it make investment sense to buy a home in an exclusive pincode?

In general, property prices in the elite pincodes quote at a 15-30 per cent premium to the benchmark in nearby areas. But there can be a lot of price variation even within these pincodes.

That’s because there are no precise benchmarks, given that transactions are few and far between. Sveta Jain of Cushman and Wakefield says that usually, pure investors do not tend to go for property in these pincodes.

The ticket size involved is huge, decisions in residential property are more emotion-driven, and investment value in many of these pincodes seems to have peaked.

But she adds that while there may be no big increase, properties in these areas do not see big depreciation during recessions.

That makes them safe even if not very profitable. Om Ahuja of JLL concurs and compares properties in the exclusive pincodes to bluechip stocks such as TCS — while it may not shoot up like a rocket, the investment should continue giving steady returns.

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