Indian property market 'to rocket by 2010'

The Indian property market is set for a massive boom which will see it increase its total value from $12 billion (£5.8 billion) to $55 billion (£26.7 billion) over the next three years, it has been claimed.

Real estate advisory firm Indian Ocean Ventures said that Britain in particular is displaying a lot of interest in purchasing Indian property and prices are rapidly rising. Prime real estate in Delhi and Mumbai has risen by nearly 50 per cent in the last year alone.

"The overall property market in India is worth about $12 billion, of which only about $3.5 to $4 billion is money that has come in from international investors," said Rohan Narse, chief executive of Indian Ocean Ventures.

"The distribution of investment is spread but I'd say it's good in the North, the West and the South. This market is probably going to be a $50 to 55 billion market by 2010."

India was highlighted by investment bank Goldman Sachs, along with Brazil, Russia and China (BRIC) as a rapidly developing economy that will eclipse most of the current richest countries in the world by 2050.