India is the world’s new Tiger Economy, with wealth, population, demand for housing and tourism all on the up, yet the Tiger is still in its infancy, which means property prices are about as low as you’ll find anywhere. Investors who dream of buying low and selling high might have to pinch themselves-this is not a dream, its very real and its happening right now.

Areas covered by M Square in India include real estate investments in mega cities of Mumbai, the national capital region (Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida) and Calcutta, the OCI and PIO homelands Punjab and Gujrat; holiday destinations Goa and Kerala; emerging cities like Chandigarh, Ahemadabad, Nagpur and of course IT centres of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.

India’s real estate investment sector is rapidly growing. Demand for property is extremely high with the government estimating a shortfall of approximately 20 million homes.

• India promises high return on investments for property investors and is currently experiencing a significant boom.
• Anyone can purchase property in India, however if you are not an Indian citizen or of Indian origin then conditions apply *
• The current population of over ONE BILLION people is set to grow by a further 400 MILLION within next 25-30 years.
• India is the second fastest growing economy in the world, with a GDP growth rate of 9.6% in the year 2006/07.
• It is predicted that India’s GDP will overtake France and Italy by the year 2020, Germany, UK and Russia by 2025 and Japan by 2035. By this year it is projected to be the third largest economy in the world. (Goldman and Sachs).
• The Indian National Stock Exchange (NSE) is the world’s third largest stock exchange in terms of transactions.
• India is major exporter of highly-skilled workers in software and financial services and software engineering. Emerging sectors which show high potential include manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, shipbuilding and aviation.

Huge Demand for Housing

Years of strong economic growth, increased mortgage lending and a growing middle class has helped fuel a huge demand for property in India. The demand for property is so high that the market is struggling to meet supply. Official Indian government figures put the shortfall in the residential sector at approx 20 million units. This acute shortage is expected to continue due to

• Strong economic growth expected to continue. Goldman Sachs (global economics paper #99) expects India to become the second largest economy in the world, ahead of the U.S., by 2050.
• Changing attitudes to home ownership. Once it was save and buy. Now it is buy and pay back
• The continued development of the mortgage market in India. The idea of home ownership on a large scale is relatively new to India so the mortgage market is quite underdeveloped. Despite this mortgage lending has increased 10 fold from 2000 -2005. Mortgages currently represent just 4% of GDP. It is much higher in other countries. Ireland for example has 28% mortgage to GDP ratio.
• India has the largest middle class in the world and it’s growing rapidly.
• India has an extremely favorable demographic. It has one of the youngest populations in the world. As a result of this by 2020, 47% of Indians will be between 15 and 59, compared with 35% now. The working-age populations of the U.S. and China are projected to shrink. So India is destined to have the world's largest population of workers and consumers. That's a big reason why Goldman, Sachs & Co. thinks India will be able to sustain its amazing growth.
• Urbanization has increased hugely and will continue to do so creating even more demand for housing in urban areas
• India has the second largest population in the world but is expected to overtake China by 2030 to become the most populous.
  
• Indian society is changing and for the first time Indian children want homes of their own.

“Rising disposable incomes, particularly among young urban professionals and easier access to finance is fueling a residential boom in India.”