Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore to be top investment spots in 2015

A stable government at the Centre and its plans to set up smart cities has revived investors’ interest in the country with Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore set to emerge as hot investment destinations in 2015.

According to a report by PwC, titled ‘Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2015’, the rankings for the three major metros, among the 22 cities surveyed across the region, have improved significantly as compared to the past two years.

While Mumbai climbed to 11th position, Delhi’s ranking improved to 14th and Bangalore to 17th, indicating a significant improvement in investor sentiment in the country, PwC India Partner Gautam Mehra told reporters.

In 2013 and 2014, Mumbai was at 20th and 23rd position, respectively. While Delhi ranked 21st in both the years, Bangalore was at 19th and 20th position in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

“There is certainly a positive vibe complemented by the expectation of an improved economy and a more transparent environment, keeping interest levels up among investors,” he said.

The positive sentiment can be gauged by the fact that global real estate funds focused on India are seeking to raise $6 billion in new capital, on top of $1.6 billion raised in the first seven months of 2014 and most of this is aimed at residential projects, he added.

In addition, there has been a significant rise in interest from large sovereign and foreign institutional players over the course of 2014.

“There is excess liquidity across various jurisdictions in the market, which is looking at opportunities for investment and India is emerging as a promising destination.

“Additionally, the expected developments around creation of smart cities focused on large scale manufacturing, and the roll-out of REITs, if implemented well, are expected to further add to the momentum," Mehra added.