The Rise of Mysuru: How Karnataka’s Heritage City Is Emerging as a Preferred Destination for Homebuyers and Investors
By Darshan Govindaraju, Executive Director, Vaishnavi Group
India’s top eight economic centres namely Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad have been the top choice for everyone’s employment and entrepreneurship dreams long before the 1991 economic policy turnaround and have continued to remain the epicentres of growth, convenience and an elevated level of lifestyle.
This demand for opportunities and a better quality of life has, however, spilled over to adjacent tier-2 cities as well with Karnataka’s Mysuru being a prime example of a heritage city now becoming a fast emerging residential hub for homebuyers and investors. It is an interesting shift in the behaviour of Indian citizens who are prioritising a healthier life, closer to nature while continuing the momentum of their professional growth, driving them to tier-2 markets like Mysuru where the cost of living is significantly affordable in comparison to a metropolitan city but offers similar convenience.
One of the most important factors driving this tectonic shift is the foray of companies across the board in this heritage town, a trend which began with Infosys establishing its world-class 337 acre Global Education Centre and now is a strong contender for both domestic as well as global organisations. This has set off a flurry of activities in the real estate industry with rapid development of office spaces, residential and retail projects.
According to property consultant ANAROCK, project Grade-A office leasing in Mysuru stood at 2–3 million square feet over the next five to seven years. Although a fraction in contrast to Bengaluru’s office market which saw a net absorption of approximately 14.15 million square feet in 2025 alone. Another study by global property consultant Knight Frank states that tier-2 cities like Mysuru, Vijayawada, Vadodara, Thiruvananthapuram, and Visakhapatnam have emerged as the most resilient retail markets in the country with Mysuru standing out with a vacancy levels as low as just 2 percent.
Owning A Piece Of Heritage
Living at the intersection of a rich history and a bright future led by technology companies offers the perfect environment for owning a residential apartment that will provide a great quality of life, affordable yet offers the convenience of a city like Bengaluru. Mysore offers robust educational facilities, natural appeal and a fertile ground for an accelerated increase in property and rental values. This is being complemented by large infrastructure projects announced by the government including a ₹393 crore concrete road-modernization for a stretch of 46 km, expansion of the Mysuru Airport for Airbus 320 operations, the development of ₹500 crore Mysuru Film City among others, triggering greater demand for housing across the city.
Although citizens from large cities like Bengaluru are frontending the demand influx in Mysuru led by affordable property options, households from non-metro cities are recalibrating their decisions to invest in a second property in metro city and choose a tier-2 city like Mysuru. The ongoing upheaval in the job market too is aiding this shift as techies are adding Mysuru to their consideration before making a huge investment.
As per BlueBroker, there has been a sharp increase in enquiries from Bengaluru-based professionals for properties in Mysuru as it offers good homes at affordable prices, with most of the MUDA-approved plots available for ₹4,500–7,000 per square feet, highly affordable as compared to Bengaluru.”
These trends are attracting both retail as well as institutional investors to tap into the vast potential of the city with the rapid rise in residential project launches by top real estate developers. This is going to contribute towards greater formalisation of the market, thereby helping build homebuyers’ and investors’ trust, eventually contributing to the rapid development of Mysuru’s real estate market.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily of Realty&More.
