Rising Profile of Land in Cultural Towns: Making the Right Real Estate Investment

India is home to numerous culturally significant cities, from Mathura in the north to Madurai in the south. Millions of tourists enrich their local economy. These cities and towns have also seen rapid infrastructural developments in recent years. The result is a surge of real estate investment in these places.

Investors trying to find out where to buy land are now considering cultural towns as a new investment option on the horizon. The trick is to identify a place that has maintained a deep-rooted cultural legacy while embracing modernisation and bracing up for the future.

A Durable Investment

Religious tourism in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 16% between 2023 and 2030. It is expected that religious tourism will generate ₹59 billion by 2028 and create more than 140 million jobs.

But this popularity is not a recent phenomenon. Holy towns have been a part of travel itineraries in India for generations. Many of these cities have survived for thousands of years. Land investments here have stood the test of time.

Historic Indian Cities/Towns

A Place with Modern Relevance

An obvious concern among investors regarding cultural hubs may be their dependency on a single factor - tourism. However, incidental developments can greatly subside this concern and make the town holistically interesting for investors.

Many cultural centres are attractive real estate investments in India, but not for their cultural importance alone. An all-round infrastructural development has increased the appeal of these cities. For instance –

• Varanasi got a ₹3,880 crore infrastructure package that will include railways, roadways, stadiums, beautification and other projects. It has seen an unprecedented rise in real estate demand since the launch of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. Tourist footfall to Kashi Vishwanath Dham increased from 80 lakhs to 7.3 crores after the pandemic.
• Similarly, Madurai has evolved into an auto-ancillary hub apart from being home to textile, chemical, rubber and chemical plants and a bustling Special Economic Zone.
• Amitabh Bachchan has invested in The Sarayu, a 7-star land parcel in Ayodhya. But it is not a flash in the pan. Real estate watchers have noted five to ten times growth in Ayodhya property prices in the last five years. A further increase of 12-20 times is expected in the next decade! So, you better find out how to invest in real estate in Ayodhya.

Facilitating Future Investments

If you are wondering where can I buy cheap land in cultural towns, consider this -

• From a popular temple town, Madurai is being developed under India’s Smart City project.
• The Yamuna Expressway has facilitated the real estate expansion of temple towns like Mathura and Vrindavan.
• Even a quaint pilgrimage site like Salasar greatly benefits from its proximity to the Jaipur-Bikaner highway.
• Land parcels across the Gorakhpur-Faizabad highway are experiencing price rises, benefitting cultural hubs like Ayodhya and Gorakhpur.

Summing Up

With increased private participation, there is a greater onus on authorities to define and ensure compliance with heritage protection, zoning rules and construction norms. Infrastructural developments in these places are streamlining compliance, redefining how to invest in real estate in India, and making them more investor-friendly. It is safe to say that popular Indian cultural hubs are prominently emerging as bright land investment destinations.