Ayodhya, Varanasi, Puri among 17 high-potential cities for fast real estate development: Report

New Delhi: Ayodhya, Varanasi, Puri, Dwarka, Shirdi, Tirupati and Amritsar are among 17 high-potential cities that will witness fast real estate development in the coming years mainly driven by spiritual tourism, infrastructure projects and digitisation, according to Colliers.

Real estate consultant Colliers India has identified 30 potentially high growth cities from 100+ cities, where real estate development is set to strengthen in the medium to long-term.

Out of these 30 cities, 17 high-potential cities are expected to witness accelerated real estate development across three or more asset classes.

A geographical spread of these 17 high-impact emerging real estate hotspots highlights equitable growth across the Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, and Central regions of the country.

The cities identified by the consultant in North India are -- Amritsar, Ayodhya, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi; East India -- Patna and Puri; West India -- Dwarka, Nagpur, Shirdi and Surat; South India -- Coimbatore, Kochi, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam; and Central India -- Indore.

Amritsar, Ayodhya, Dwarka, Puri, Shirdi, Tirupati and Varanasi emerged as cities to watch out for in terms of growth driven by spiritual tourism, the consultant said.

"Bolstered by government policy support and infrastructure developments, spiritual tourism is poised to be a critical growth driver for the development of several temple towns in India."

"Upgrades in infrastructure and enhanced connectivity through improved roads, flagship trains, and new airports have the potential to attract organized real estate players to these spiritual destinations in the long-term, specifically across hospitality and retail segments," the report said.

Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer, Colliers India, noted that smaller towns are emerging as dynamic contributors to India's economy, driven by improved infrastructure, affordable real estate, skilled talent, and government initiatives.

This growth is set to propel the real estate sector to an estimated $1 trillion by 2030 and potentially $5 trillion, a 14-16 per cent share in GDP by 2050, he added.

"Significant momentum is expected across residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, and industrial segments. Additionally, alternate asset classes such as data centers, senior living, and second homes are also poised for significant activity in these emerging real estate hotspots," Yagnik said.