Paradigm Shift - Service Apartments in Goa - Corporate Housing!

Goa, although highly literary state on the western coast of India, it is lagging behind in  information technology and IT enabled services segment. Unlike Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka, Goa state Governments never took any proactive steps to develop this highly lucrative IT sector. It relies upon its old bastion of mining ore exports and tourism. The young and talented IT graduates have to migrate to Pune or Bangalore or Mumbai seeking job opportunities. Some try their luck in the Middle East. 

There is a huge potential as well as demand from corporate sector for IT enabled services in Goa. The Government needs to provide right infrastructure for the convenience of the investors and entrepreneurs. Then only the corporates will take initiative to set up their shops here in Goa.  As far as ITtalents are concerned, there is no dearth of finding any. If  the right opportunities and remuneration is provided, the Job seekers, those who have left Goa, will return to their native place. 

However, setting up the IT park in Goa, seems the distant dream. There were two projects, one at Socorro and the other at Dona Paula. The Socorro project is already shelved and now It is in the news  that there  were no bidders for the land at Dona Paula project. Not because no one was interested, but the land prices were too steep! The Government needs to be proactive and cooperative to the entrepreneurs those who want to start IT ventures in Goa.

Secondly, being a tourist destination, another sunrise industry in Goa at present is Serviced apartments. Presently, it is a buzz in the real estate industry. With an array of projects across major cities like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi and Kolkata, leading real estate companies are offering medium- to high-end serviced apartments in the price range of Rs 50-70  lakhs. Serviced apartments are furnished residential units with accompanied housekeeping, concierge and maintenance services, just like a hotel accommodation. Goa is still lagging behind in this sector as well. Hardly any developer comes forward with a project of serviced apartments. It is either bungalows or row houses in addition to fancy Apartments in the complexes. Goa is predominantly portrayed as a touristic state.  Hence one will find plenty of hotels, resorts, guest houses for sale or investment, but very few or no serviced Apartments on the sales block.

In metropolitan cities, several developers are offering investors a chance to buy serviced apartments with the attraction of earning good returns through rentals. Serviced apartments  offer  new opportunities to both, developers and investors. The leased apartments are maintained and refurbished at regular intervals by the company. Serviced apartments offers 10-20% annual return, against 3-5% offered by residential apartments. You can also sell these properties to realise the appreciation gains. The investor can sell the apartment to a new investor on the condition that the lease agreement, if any, shall be binding upon the new purchaser.  Some developers have forayed  into hotel Apartments or condominiums in Delhi and Noida. Investors also have the option of buying rooms in condominium hotels. The property is managed and rented out by the hotel management and the investor gets a share of the profits. In Goa too, we can expect this trend soon.

The present BJP government of Goa under the leadership of Mr. Manohar Parrikar, who himself is an technocrat has shown some proactive signals to act on the  IT sector in Goa. He is aware that Goa's Mining and tourism industries are fickle and cyclical. He has been trying to woo IT and ITeS investors, and even created an IT park in Dona Paula.  He is in favor of industries that causes little or no pollution.  That could include IT, pharma, entertainment, light engineering, where Goans can find work. 

Once these service sectors get the right kind of atmosphere and support from the Government, Goa will attract few entrepreneurs to set up their bases in Goa. The service apartments could meet their needs of the temporary housing.