Mangaluru: The city’s residential rental market has seen strong post-Covid growth, with rents rising 20–35% since 2021 amid demand for premium housing, migrant inflow, rising land prices and increased investor activity.Central areas now offer rental yields of 4–6%, outperforming several tier-2 cities in Karnataka. The surge is driven by infrastructure upgrades, lifestyle shifts and growing investor confidence.Demand remains highest in well-connected localities such as Bejai, Balmatta, Attavar, Kadri, Bendorewell, Falnir and Valencia, along with areas near educational institutions. While most locations beyond the Nantoor belt have seen stable trends, Derebail, Kavoor and Kottara stand out with stronger rental activity.“The two-BHK apartment in the central city area, which was priced around Rs 20,000 five years ago, has now been hiked to Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. Overall, the rent prices in the last five years went up by 25% across the most areas in demand, be it apartment or independent houses,” said Rajesh Lancy Rego, a broker, adding that a 3BHK property that used to cost about Rs 6,000 in the 1990s, now costs Rs 30,000 and above,” Rego said.A large share of renters now consists of professionals moving into Mangaluru from outside the city for work. “The demand and price started moving up post-Covid after the influx of work-from-home professionals and some good-quality white-collar jobs like IT jobs and others,” said Gurudatta Shenoy, managing partner at Mukund MGM Realty and Vertex Managed Workspace.The widening of NH-66 and ongoing Smart City works have improved connectivity and liveability, helping suburban areas such as Kottara and Derebail emerge as high-growth rental corridors. A two-BHK apartment (rent) that used to cost Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 five years ago has now shot to Rs 20,000.Despite persistent concerns in the rental market, high security deposits, 11-month eviction clauses, pet restrictions, and, at times, discrimination towards certain faiths, prices continue to remain elevated, said brokers.
