MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
By Jim Yardley, New York Times, March 2/3, 2013
NEW DELHI — The fading bungalow at 38 Amrita Shergil Marg does not immediately shout real estate bling. There is no tennis court, no infinity pool, no Sub-Zero refrigerator or walk-in closet. The paint is chipped, the bathrooms are musty and the ceilings have water stains. The house may ultimately be torn down.
Yet when it went up for public auction, the winning bid was almost $29 million. And many neighbors consider that a bargain. One block away, a gracious if not quite Rockefeller-ready residence once leased by the Mexican ambassador is now reportedly on the market for more than $100 million. Other nearby houses are going for $40 million to $70 million [....]
Real estate prices in the heart of New Delhi, especially for the bungalows built nearly a century ago during the British Raj, are among the highest in the world.
Though India’s economy has cooled, the demand for property in elite areas remains so strong that even finding a house for sale is tricky: [....]