Tips that can help you. Buying a house in Noida?

Noida has emerged as a major destination for home buyers over the last few years. Noida and Greater Noida, along with Yamuna Expressway and Noida Extension, provide affordable alternatives to middle class buyers in the national capital region. Average home prices in these regions are significantly lower than in Gurgaon, which is associated with high-end apartments.

Plot versus apartment: You can buy a plot for the price of an apartment along the Yamuna Expressway, which connects Greater Noida with Agra. The world class expressway provides easy access from Delhi. However, don’t expect immediate capital appreciation because there is an oversupply of plots in this area. Plots near the F1 track or in the integrated townships coming along the expressway are better options.

Choosing a developer: Projects being developed by an unknown builder, or a first time builder, are prone to execution delays. They will be comparatively cheap, but may remain grounded forever. Samir Jasuja, chief executive officer of PropEquity says buyers should always pay a little premium but go with a reputed or branded developer who will ensure the execution of the project even though it may still get delayed.

Project specification: Small  always be beautiful. As buildings go taller, large open spaces become a necessity. Look for a project that is adjoining a public park, or has bigger common areas. There will be a small premium between a 25-acre and a 50-acre project to start with, but with time projects with better amenities command a bigger premium.

Absorption: Some areas like the Yamuna Expressway and Noida Extension have large inventories and absorption could continue to slow down. Homes in areas with low absorption rate are less costly, but are suitable only for long term investors, who have a time frame of at least 5-10 years. You should invest in such properties only if you are an end user with no plans to dispose the property.

Geographical factors: Noida and Great Noida have high water table unlike Gurgaon where ground water is not available. Noida has better accessibility to Delhi as compared to Gurgaon, which relies only on the Jaipur Highway. However, both Noida and Gurgaon fall in seismic zone 4, where the risk of earthquakes is pretty high.