T Chitty Babu

T Chitty Babu loves real estate as it is the only asset class where all his personal wealth is tied up. “An asset class like equities requires a lot of research. For me, my two decade experience in real estate makes it easier to invest in the sector,” explains the realtor.

A small proportion goes into gold, though he clarifies that it is nothing more than ornamental. 

To his mind, there is really no better investment than real estate. “If the objective of an investor is to get a smooth exit, land is a good option. If safety and security are important, commercial assets or rental yields can be considered,” explains Babu. Over time, he has fine-tuned his strategy in real estate. Initially, he never sold commercial properties, only rented or leased them. But now the company has started selling these assets. 

“I am conservative with my personal wealth but comfortable taking risks when it comes to my business,” he adds. So in his personal capacity, when it comes to investing, he picks up land and property in established markets such as Coimbatore, Trichy, Salem and his hometown, Nagercoil. But when investing as a company, Babu is willing to take aggressive bets. A case in point is how Akshaya invested in an off-beat location such as Old Mahabalipuram Road, which was a long way from Chennai. “We placed our bets since the Siruseri IT Park was coming up there. Then it was considered extremely risky, but today it’s a sought-after destination,” says Babu. Over the past 10 years, land prices in OMR have shot up from Rs. 1 crore an acre to almost Rs. 25 crore an acre.

In the times to come, he expects to stay invested in real estate, though it could be other opportunities within the sector. “I will continue to invest money in land. But there will also be options in infrastructure projects and that could be interesting,” he says.