15 Apr 2021  |   05:21am IST

Rentals from Parra to Siolim show huge spike with influx of lessees from COVID hit metros

People have been moving to Goa and working offsite since the first wave. They preferred staying in Panjim or along the coastline but now they prefer staying in places like Parra and Assagao to name just a few locations

Ajit John

"Wanted 1 or 2BHK fully furnished with hi speed internet for 3 months at Siolim Parra Anjuna or Assagao". 

This is a typical post in fast mushrooming Facebook groups amd Insta stories as the Goa craze has shifted from holiday to work. Naturally home owners amd brokers are making a killing. Rentals in these sleepy villages have doubled I. The last three months over an already enhanced spike in the previous season. 

Kapil Arora who is in the reality business as a broker said properties for short stay had increased. He said it was not unusual for a 2 Bhk in Anjuna to increase to Rs 35,000 to 40,000 a month and in Moira or Assagao to reach anywhere between Rs 50,000 to 60,000 a month. In Porvorim, he said an unfurnished flat would go for Rs 25,000 while a furnished flat would go for Rs 35,000 a month. He said the lockdown in Maharashtra had reduced business but he was confident it would increase in fifteen days once the lockdown came to an end. He however felt this business was due to the virus and would vanish once the virus was vanquished. 

Sumangal Dharti, another broker said there were a lot of enquiries from people interested in shifting to places like Vagator, Anjuna, Assagao and Parra to name just a few places. He said “International travel is not happening and people are looking at Goa and other places. Yes, there are also mid level and senior executives who have now shifted to Goa and are working from home. They are enjoying the more relaxed lifestyle. A villa with a pool in Vagator or Anjuna can go for anywhere Rs 2.5 to 5 lakhs a month. And yes there is a lot of business in that category. Businessmen have shifted with their families here. Apartments in Vagator can go for Rs 45,000 now; earlier those flats would go for Rs 25,000. Villas in a complex with a common pool can go for Rs 65,000 a month. Villas in Assagao could go for as much as Rs 75,000 to Rs 80,000 a month”. He said demand had gone up like never before in the last six months and the rates charged for villas and apartments were never seen before. In Assagao, he said last year the rate was Rs 22,000 per sq mtr for anyone interested in buying land and that had now gone up to anywhere between Rs 32,000 to 40,000 per sqw mtr. 

Moira he said was going at Rs 3,000 per sq mtrs and that was now going at Rs 12,000 per sq mtr. He said he had recently helped a family shift into a villa in Assagao for Rs 65,000 a month. These were rates he said no one would pay before this virus emerged. Goa, he felt would remain red hot as a location for another year. 

Smith and Appy a husband and wife management team said business had certainly increased at their property in Parra. He said a year ago a room would go for Rs 1000- 1200 per night but now that had increased to Rs 2000-2500 a night. This was the calculation he said for everyone who stayed for a month or more. He said “I have people from Bengaluru, Vizag, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. I have staff from Amazon and Netflix staying here. They want continuous power supply and wifi. Our rooms are fully furnished. Business has been good and we are contemplating picking up another property in Vagator. We receive enquiries everyday”. 

Irshad a broker said business had been very good for the past one year and he was handling a villa in Assagao which went at Rs. 1.5 lakhs a month now. He said he would get a lot of calls from families in Delhi asking for luxurious villas or apartments. These businessmen he said were interested in working from Goa and were coming with their wives. Business, he said, was good and he expected it to stay that way for the rest of the year. 

The higher end of this market is booming. Sunny Madhu Singhal manages an old house in Anjuna called Casa Heritage since 1452, a property that is 586 years old. He said “We have people who come and stay and we charge them Rs 20, 000 to Rs 30,000 a night for a short stay. They come from Punjab and Maharashtra. Now we have a party that is staying for a month or more and the calculations are different. We are getting calls everyday asking us when it will be free. Business is good, of that there is no doubt. 

Varun Malhotra from Veda Hospitality who could not speak much because he was busy said business was good at the moment and it made sense as businessmen to make the most of this time. 

Well, this virus has certainly turned everything upside down for sure. Amd rentals in this party belt are going only one way. Up and up.