~ Sunil Sisodiya, Founder & Chairman, Neworld Developers
Goa’s real estate landscape is taking on an all-important structural shift that the numbers tell you. As per industry reports, the home price in Goa has soared 66.3% year on year; this makes it one of the steepest cycles in appreciation of any Indian leisure market in the last ten years. While the coastal arc from Candolim to Vagator has long held investor attention, the axis from Mandrem up to Morjim and further inland toward Chopdem, Ugvem and Pernem is quickly becoming the state’s most active short-term rental hot spot. That evolution is driven by the ramp-up of operations at the Manohar International Airport (Mopa) and the broader transformation of Goa’s tourism, connectivity and lifestyle economy.
As a result is the new airport’s effect across travel patterns. With a capacity of over 4.5 million passengers in Phase 1 and rapidly increasing flight frequencies between Tier I and Tier II cities, North Goa is now no longer confined by seasonality, as shown by the number of passengers travelling in the city. Direct foreign traffic from the UAE, Qatar and parts of Europe has opened the gates and the market for a new-age traveller who prefers shorter stays and higher spending and curated, experiential travel over traditional sea days. Supported by Mopa’s connectivity advantage, the Goa Tourism Department expects a year-on-year visitor growth of 12–14% in the coming years. This has seen more and more inward nonstop trips to the northern hinterland, especially those within thirty minutes of the airport, in which travellers are choosing spacious villas, boutique houses and privacy-led lodgings instead of regular hotels.
This new investment playbook is due to the changed behaviour in tourism. According to market tracker analysis, premium rental units in North Goa’s premium rental market now earn 8–12% a year, while the rate of occupancy is already rising by 30–45% across emerging markets with Mopa instead of an old, full-blown beachfront. The average property value for villa rental prices has risen between 18 and 22% annually – propelled by remote professionals, wellness seekers, destination wedding groups, digital nomads and long-stay digitally orientated guests who like nature-filled neighbourhoods of their own and are not as drawn to crowded coastal belts. Micro markets like Mandrem, Morjim, Chopdem and Pernem, which were once quiet, peripheral sectors and a bit of a hinterland, now offer high-demand rental corridors with much more long-term appreciation potential and are also enjoying an ever stronger position.
This momentum is further reinforced by government-led infrastructure. This has meant that the state has increased internal road connectivity, strengthened last-mile links from Mopa to neighbouring villages, and declared wellness, cultural tourism and adventure clusters as future growth anchors for North Goa. These interventions play to the region’s natural strengths—a lower density, an enhanced green topography, and a landscape still characterised by architectural elasticity at a time when urban coastal belts are grappling with saturation and increasing environmental constraints.
Investors’ behaviour reflects this new narrative. NRIs from the UK, UAE, Canada and Singapore, start-up founders, and hospitality entrepreneurs based in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are increasingly directing capital towards quality rental-driven assets in the Mopa corridor. This trend has been only deepened by robust post-Covid preferences for single-family homes with private pools, terraces and integrated workspaces. Consultants predict the value of land in north-eastern Goa will appreciate 20–45% over the subsequent years, ahead of older markets already in middle-age cycles.
As Goa evolves from a seasonal getaway to a year-round lifestyle and tourism economy, North Goa–Mopa is the most future-ready region in the state. It stands as Goa’s best real estate corridor (one not solely ruled by beach facilities, but rather by ease of access, nature-based appeal and long-term investment with strong and measurable data – not just sentiment) because of its proximity to airports.
