Land prices in Bangalore have skyrocketted. About six years back, an acre of land in either Bannerghatta or Devanahalli areas of the city could be bought for as less as Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) to Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). But now prices range from Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) to Rs 2.5 crore (Rs 25 million)!
Says Navkesh Batra, legal advisor to several realtors and corporates, the reason for this scary rise is increasing disposal income. The mindset of the people in Bangalore about 5 years ago was to spend 60 per cent of the income, while saving the rest.
Now with the advent of the IT sector and bigger pay packets, the mindset has changed and people end up spending 200 per cent of what is earned. This is largely thanks to exhibitionist consumerism, credit cards and easy availability of personal loans.
Interestingly, the youngest member of the millionaire club in Bangalore would be 30 years old. The average working age of a person in Bangalore is 26. At this age, people are generally fancy free and hence have a tendency to spend more, giving a big boost to a consumerist economy.
Sudeep Shenoy, an IT professional, says that the very mindset of the younger generation in Bangalore is to be either a Lakshmi Mittal or an Ambani. The word wealthy is no longer dirty. Everybody wants to be big. The target is not just to be a millionaire but to be known as one.
So who are the members of this club? Apart from the IT whizkids, realtors, chartered accountants, management consultants and advocates are those that have incomes big enough to allow them entry to this elite group.
This is co-related and when you draw a circle, you would notice that each one is dealing with the other and in the bargain getting richer.
The Vijay Mallya-promoted UB City project, a 55%-45% partnership between UB Group and Prestige Group, is being built in the most coveted location in Bangalore adjacent to the picturesque Cubbon Park.
Photograph: Vicky Nanjappa
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