Where to go in India.

Right now it seems India is not so much a land of opportunity, but a whole subcontinent. The second most populous nation on Earth has been enjoying a huge economic boom while increasingly asserting itself in the cultural, political and sporting arenas.

Naturally enough, it may seem, property has been a big part of that boom. Hailing India as "crunch proof" in its announcement via Biz Asia, investment firm Navyroof.com has highlighted its forthcoming seminar on Indian property to be held in Birmingham later this month with some eye-popping figures, such as a 70 per cent rise in property values in the last two years alone and a prediction by analyst firm Merrill Lynch that values will rise by as much as 700 per cent by 2015.

Such suggestions may make it sound as if it is impossible to lose out in the country and that all an investor needs to do is jump on board the runaway train. But overseas investment firm Investors Provident suggests that matters are not so simple and boarding the right coach is what matters.

Warning of the potential for derailment, director Hetal Shah said: "India is a huge country and you will have to be quite picky about where you invest. Not all of India property is a good investment opportunity."

Mr Shah said the places to avoid were areas such as villages and agricultural districts, where little development has taken place. Instead, he suggested, the place to go was either in the big cities or the new towns emerging nearby as India starts to develop its own version of suburbia.

"So, when you talk about India property, you are talking about the metros and anything around the satellite towns. You'll never lose out around the major cities, especially when you have a booming economy and a growing middle class," he stated.

Indeed, of all the locations where people can invest, these new towns are among the best in terms of value for money, Mr Shah suggested. He compared cities such as Delhi and Mumbai with London in the sense that property in these established cities had become much more expensive than elsewhere. Instead, he said, it was better to start with the mushrooming satellite towns and "start again from ground level," where long-term investors should get a "good return".

So while the cities are yesterday's hotspots and the country remains cool, it appears the places where India's rapidly rising middle class are commuting from are the place to go. Acacia Avenue they may not be, but if growth carries on in the way it has, maybe the prediction of Merrill Lynch will turn out right and long-term investors in such places will be more than happy.

Jim Barnaby is a real estate investment broker and successful property investment adviser delivering research and selected UK and overseas property investment solutions with experience in spanish properties, french property investment, German property, Cyprus holiday homes, Property in Cape Verde, German property investment, cape verde property buy to let property.