Developers say NRIs now account for 15-30% of sales in branded developments as against 5-15% three years ago. Properties in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Goa are attracting most of the buyers but enquiries are coming for other cities too.

And it's not just biggies such as Shapoorji Pallonji, Unitech, DLF, Hiranandanis, K Raheja that are benefiting from the NRI wave but also middle-level players such as Rustomjee and others.

Aniruddha Joshi, executive director of real estate investment company Hirco Group, says India as an investment destination has gained prominence over the last 10 years. "Real estate is a key asset class for any investor looking at India," he adds.

Rajesh Goenka, chairman and CEO of property services provider Axiom Estates, agrees. "NRI bank account deposits have grown three-fold in the last three years but investments that would have normally been channelled into stock markets are coming into realty in India -- our sales show this," he says. Its recent property road-shows across the US and the UK attracted 5,000 NRIs.

Closer home, The Imperial, which is being jointly developed by Shapoorji Pallonji and Dilip Thacker-owned SD Corp in Mumbai at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore, has received enquiries in the Rs 50 lakh to Rs 20 crore range, says Amit Thacker of SD Corp. "Enquiries from the recent overseas property show in which we participated came mainly from individuals in private equity funds, banks and other financial institutions," he adds.

Several of the company's upcoming projects are targeted towards NRIs, says Thacker. Though Hirco doesn't have projects exclusively aimed at the NRI community, the enquiries it gets from this segment are on the rise, says Joshi. "The NRI community is attracted to residential properties in our townships in Chennai and Panvel. We are studying township projects in many locations, including Pune, Nashik and Ahmedabad," he says.

Percy Chowdhry, the director of Rustomjee, says the developer is active in the NRI market and has sold 10-12 apartments in the last three months alone. Rustomjee offers premium single-floor, sea-facing properties, complete with health clubs and swimming pools.

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In Kolkata, South City, developed by a consortium of developers, has an NRI buyer base of 37%, with its South City Gardens project in Alipore registering NRI demand of 20% already. Sushil Mohta, the director of South City Projects (Kolkata) Ltd, says that UK-based NRIs usually want a second home in India.

"But the buyer base from the US is the migratory population - mostly people working with IT companies," he adds.