Noida enjoys the status of being one of the largest planned industrial townships in Asia. The city is an important part of the National Capital Region (NCR) comprising Delhi and Gurgaon, although geographically it lies in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.

In the recent times, Noida is considered to be one of the most favored destinations of the IT, ITES and BPO companies, is growing from strength to strength in the commercial rental segment. Subsequently, corporates are making beeline to launch and expand their business operations from the city.

And, as more and more companies make their foray into Noida, setting up business would mean investments into real estate. Just as the trends prevails, the corporate sector mainly the MNCs prefer to rent for office spaces as they first seek to test the waters before moving on for more business expansions.

NOIDA, the preferred IT - ITES destination in India has mostly chosen their business locations in Sector 29, 57, 58, 59 & 60. Major office complexes of the town are located in and around Sector 18. Most of these commercial spaces are sold out to various investors and are occupied by various corporate and IT companies on rental basis, with the rent ranging between Rs.20 - 50 per sq.ft pm.

The strong leasing activity reported in the first quarter in Noida continued through the second quarter. Aggregate office space taken off in the micro market in the last six months has reportedly exceeded 680,000 sq.ft.

One of the reasons for projection of high rental values can be attributed to a number of software companies that have come up with campus style developments in Noida and builders are also leaving no opportunity to come with customized developments catering to client needs.

The increased momentum was evident in the market as the last quarter saw nearly 700,000 sq.ft of office space being transacted in NCR out of which nearly one third was in Noida.The institutional sector of Noida, Sector 62 is witnessing significant developer activity. Unitech and DLF who have already launched their projects are anticipated to infuse around 2.5 million their ft2 by 2008.

With Noida authority initiative in terms of land allocation at competitive rates targeting IT/ITES companies, the Noida Expressway provides immense investment opportunities for BTS or campus developments.

Noida and Greater Noida is also poised to witness their share of SEZ developments with prime developers like Unitech and Ansals collectively developing around 120 acres of IT focused SEZs.

The retail properties in Noida are also undergoing a defining change with more developers deciding not to sell space to investors; this has certainly boosted the confidence of retailers. Prime hi-street in Noida like Sector 18, which is considered the major retail market of the city, continue to enjoy interest from various retail segments and see a sustained increase in rentals. High street shops are available both on rent as well as on sale and the size varies between 200 - 500 sq.ft. Rental values of these shops vary between INR 80 - 150 per sq.ft.

But despite an increased momentum, the rentals have remained stable, as market analysts believe. This can be attributed to the increase in construction activities by developers who have moved in from all over to make the best business deal.

Noida sees sustained interest from the companies planning on expanding their existing operation within Noida. This is predominantly due to continuing low-cost real estate and increasing flexibility in availability of custom built options.