Employment

North Chennai is primarily an industrial area

and is governed by business and trader

community, locomotive workshops,

government offices and port related activities.

Chennai Port and Ennore Port are located in

this region. Contrary to South Chennai which

currently boasts of over 75% of Chennai’s

office space stock, North Chennai houses

none. Restricted employment opportunities

have resulted in sluggish real estate growth in

this region.

Connectivity

Currently Chennai has 4 suburban rail

networks. The North Line connects the

Northern parts of Chennai namely Tondiarpet,

Ennore, Gummidipoondi with Central

Chennai. The West line from Chennai Central

to Tiruvallur is the oldest rail network in

Chennai around which the city thrived and

development started. It also divides the

Northern part of the city from Central and

Western areas.

One of the major arterial roads the Chennai –

Kolkata Highway (NH5) starts at the Basin

Bridge and connects Chennai port with North

Chennai. Besides this road connectivity in

North Chennai still remains a question with

thousands of commuters struggling every day.

The long due underpass in Villivakkam was

inaugurated in June 2012 and has improved

the traffic conditions to an extent.

The Perambur flyover and Perambur

Locoworks road over bridge are two of the

major projects to be implemented in North

Chennai in recent years. They are expected to

ease traffic congestion in the area.

The Chennai Bypass Road is in close proximity

to the western end of North Chennai and

thereby gives better connectivity to the micro

markets – Korattur, Madhavaram.

Infrastructure

North Chennai is known to be the neglected

area by the government authorities.

Connectivity, flooding due to lack of storm

water drain network, contaminated drinking

water and improper sanitation system are

some of the major grievances of the residents.

Outer Ring Road

The second phase of the Outer Ring Road

(Nemilichery – Nallur – Minjur) will connect

NH 205 to the NH 5 in North Chennai via a six

lane highway. Currently the first phase of the

Outer Ring Road connecting Vandalur to

Nemilichery is under construction.

Chennai-Ennore Port Road Connectivity

Project

Expected to be completed in June 2013, the

project is a SPV (Special purpose vehicle)

comprising of National Highways Authority of

India, Chennai Port Trust, Government of

Tamil Nadu and Ennore Port Ltd., as partners.

The project was conceived in 1998 at an

estimated cost of Rs.150 crores. Work started

Connectivity continues to remain one of the biggest concerns for north Chennai residents with thousands of commuters struggling every day

only in January 2011 with a revised estimate

of Rs.600 crores. The project is considered

vital for the future development of Chennai

Port, as it is planned to upgrade the city

roads, connecting the Port to the hinterland

and thereby improve the efficiency of cargo

evacuation.

Chennai Metro Rail

Even though the under construction Chennai

Metro doesn’t directly connect North Chennai

but the nearest station at Anna Nagar will

help improve the connectivity of North

Chennai localities with the airport,

Vadapalani, St. Thomas Mount and other

South Chennai micro markets.

Stock and Absorption

The residential supply in North Chennai is

subdued and constitutes of only 15% of the

total under construction stock in Chennai.

Lack of job opportunities and thereby limited

demand and lack of vacant land parcels closer

to the city are some of the reasons for it. The

demand here comes from the industrial, port

and public sector employees who have

worked and lived in the area throughout their

lives.

North Chennai being older Chennai has

traditional set of buyers. Unlike South and

West Chennai most of the investors in North

Chennai are residents of North Chennai itself.

The area would see steady growth in the

future with stand alone houses giving way to

low-rise apartment complexes.

With improvement in connectivity and better

infrastructure facilities in the future one can

expect an increase in demand for residential

properties in north Chennai.

Chennai Residential Market Zone Wise

Distribution of Stock

Capital Value

Residential Property Rates in Major

Residential Markets of North Chennai

MICRO MARKET CAPITAL VALUE (INR psft)

Kolathur 4000 – 5200

Tondiarpet 4000 – 5500

Korattur 5000 – 6500

Madhavaram 3800 – 4500

Perambur 5200 – 6500

Puzhal 2500 – 4000

Puzhal (Land) 1500 – 1800

1%15%

68%

16%

(Source : IndiaProperty.com)

CENTRAL NORTH SOUTH WEST

Having traditional set of

buyers, North Chennai sees

demand from its existing

set of residents – mainly

industrial, port and public

sector employees

Budget Preference of Buyers in North

Chennai

North Chennai has high percentage of middle

class population with over 70% buyers looking

for properties under INR 50 Lacs budget with

over 55% of the buyers having a preference

for unit size ranging between 700 – 1200 sqft.

Major population in North comprises of public

sector employees, railway workers and port

employees who desire to settle down close to

the areas where they have spent major part of

their lives working.

Unit Size Preference of Buyers in North

Chennai

Micro Markets

Perambur, Tondiarpet, Kolathur are the major

residential localities of the region. With

number of under construction projects,

Madhavaram is growing as an in-demand

residential micro.

Locality Preference of Buyers in North Chennai

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

(Source : IndiaProperty.com)

< 30 L 30 - 50 L 50 - 75 L 75 - 100 L > 100 L

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

(Source : IndiaProperty.com)

< 700 sqft 700 - 1000 sqft 1000 - 1200 sqft

1200 - 1500 sqft > 1500 sqft

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

(Source : IndiaProperty.com)

Kolathur Korattur Madhavaram Perambur Puzhal Thiruvotriyur Tondiarpet Villivakkam

Perambur

Perambur is one of the early settlements of

Chennai around which the city grew. It was

primarily dominated by the railway employees

working for Perambur Locoworks and Carriage

works. It is considered as a good locality to

live in North Chennai.

Primarily a residential area, it is densely

populated with pockets of commercial

developments. The Spectrum mall is the only

organised retail present in the area. The area

has always been in demand amongst locals.

It’s in proximity to the Chennai Central station

and Egmore Station (about 5 kms from both).

Capital values in the area have appreciated by

over 20 – 30% in the past 2 years. Being a low

lying area with poor access, until recently the

developers were not interested in Perambur.

But over the years the infrastructure has

drastically improved in the area and after

opening of the Perambur flyover the

connectivity issue also got resolved.

One of the common trends in the area is

individual houses getting converted into

apartments having 20 – 25 units. Also some of

the old mills have given way to huge vacant

land parcels, giving way to big residential

developments in the area. The area holds

good potential as it’s close to the city with

infrastructure in place along with decent

property pricing.

Kolathur

Kolathur is one of the popular residential

localities in North Chennai and is now part of

the State Assembly Constituency. It is well

connected to the city as it’s adjacent to the

Grand Trunk Road connecting Kolathur to

Anna Nagar. The Chennai Bypass Road is also

in close proximity to Kolathur, giving the

locality easy access to the Western and

Southern Chennai suburbs. Closest Suburban

Rail stations to Kolathur are Villivakkam and

Perambur Locoworks.

The completion work of Perambur flyover and

Perambur Locoworks road over bridge highly

improved the access to the locality.

It is a low lying area and is therefore flood-

prone. In recent times the storm water drain

network in the area has improved. But

electricity, contaminated water and sewage

overflow remain few of the major issues in

the area.

Like any location

accessibility plays a critical

role in North Chennai in

defining the residential

demand for a micro market

Ayanavaram

Ayanavaram is one of the rare localities in

North Chennai where the railway crossing is

not a hurdle. Overall connectivity to the area

is good. Close to the prime localities like

Kilpauk and Pursaiwakkam, the micro market

has high growth potential. The trend of

individual houses getting converted into

apartments is visible here. But except the

main Konnur High Road, all the internal roads

are narrow with small plot sizes. This is one of

the restricting factors hindering the

residential development in the area making

the property prices comparable to Perambur

which is location wise further ahead.

Villivakkam

Villivakkam is located next to the prime area

Anna Nagar. Railway track crossing at

Villivakkam is the biggest hurdle, limiting the

residential demand and capital values in the

area. The Villivakkam underpass has improved

traffic conditions in the area. Being a low lying

area, the locality is prone to frequent water

logging.

The Konnur High Road and Jawaharlal Nehru

Road are the major arterial road in the area

connecting Villivakkam to Ambattur, Padi,

Anna Nagar, Koyambedu. The plotted houses

here are giving way to small apartment

complexes.

With poor infrastructure the area has not

witnessed the growth which it should have

because of its location. With government

initiatives and improvement in physical

infrastructure the area has potential to see

high demand for residential properties.

Madhavaram

Madhavaram located along the Great

Northern Trunk Road (also known as NH 5 or

Chennai – Kolkatta Highway) and the Chennai

Bypass road is known for the Aavin milk dairy

and mango groves. The locality has good

future prospects as the government owns

major chunk of the land here and the area is

likely to remain green with minimal scope for

unorganised real estate development.

Because of its location, easy access to Chennai

city, port and railways - CMDA developed a

truck terminal here in 1992. The area often

faces heavy traffic due to the trucks parked on

the road.

Some of the other issues that the locality

currently faces are – lack of adequate public

transport facility, proper drinking water and

poor sewage network. The Madhavaram Lake

faces consequences of poor drainage and has

been highly polluted over the years.

Compared to South and

West part of Chennai,

properties in North

Chennai are reasonably

priced and improvement in

connectivity and

infrastructure would lead

to steady growth in the

area

Puzhal

Puzhal is located towards the end of the

Chennai Bypass Road along the Great

Northern Trunk Road. This gives it easy access

to other parts of Chennai city and an

advantage over rest of the developing

localities in North Chennai. Currently the area

lacks real estate activity but it is one of the

localities in North Chennai to look for in the

future. Access and affordability are two

factors that will drive growth in the area.

Located on the banks of Puzhal Lake or the

Redhills Lake, the area is known for the Puzhal

central prison which was setup in 2006. The

Puzhal Lake is one of the major sources of

fresh water supply in Chennai and prone to

contamination from improper waste and

sewage disposal from the prison resulting in

both air and water pollution.

The proposed monorail connecting Vandalur

to Puzhal via Avadi has now been dropped

owing to financial feasibility.

Outlook

Residential market in North Chennai

constitutes of a small percentage of 15% of

the total under construction stock in Chennai.

The area sees maximum demand from

traditional set of buyers who have lived in the

area. The demand here comes from the public

sector employees, railway workers and port

employee who have worked and lived in the

area throughout their lives. Having high

percentage of middle class population under

INR 50 Lacs is the most proffered budget for

residential properties.

Lack of job opportunities, poor access due to

presence of railway track, water logging,

inadequate fresh water supply, improper

sewage lines are few of the reasons for

restricted growth in the past.

With improvement in connectivity and better

infrastructure facilities in the future one can

expect an increase in demand for residential

properties in North Chennai. The area would

see steady growth in the future with stand

alone houses giving way to low-rise

apartment complexes.