bangalore the citys rich and famous as well as high net worth individuals hnis in the country are flocking to invest in sprawling second homes or country estates on the outskirts of bangalore much of the buying is actually happening in hosur district of tamil nadu about 15 to 20 kilometers from the it hubs of bangalore in tamil nadu agricultural land can be bought by nonagriculturalists unlike in karnataka where nonagriculturalists arent allowed to invest in agricultural land unless the land has been converted the world over hnis have stamped their preference for specific locations to build second homes and over the years these locations have developed a certain snob value in new york many hnis have seaside homes in the hamptons while many rich britons have second homes on the spanish coast in mumbai the rich and famous have a penchant for seaside mansions in alibaug while in the capital the preference is for lutyens delhi and then you have individuals like mark zuckerberg larry page tom cruise and steve ballmer who own country estates homes of 17000 sqft to 52000 sqft in size situated on acres of land bill gates and michael dell are said to own larger estates on the outskirts of bangalore in the vicinity of sarjapur village near the karnataka border the country estate culture seems to ape the preferences of the american billionaires niche developers are targeting hnis with oneacre land parcels and estate homes ranging in size from 15000 sqft to 50000 sqft country estates are for people who have arrived in life who dont have to swipe the attendance recorder at 930 am who want to get away from the city as often as they can says amit bagaria founder chairman of asipac a real estate consultancy and marketing firm j vishnu shankar founder of real estate consultancy firm crorepati homes estimates that there are between 100 and 150 hni estates in hosur district of tamil nadu which are largely owned by bangalorebased dollar millionaires now hnis from across india are looking for second homes in this belt adds shankar clover fields among the wellestablished gated estate projects in the area offers 1acre plots and has a resident list that includes the top itmillionaires of bangalore the project which has approximately 40 functional estates houses the country estate of the promoter family of hyderabadbased dr reddys laboratories in the same vicinity richard rekhy ceo of kpmg india and deepak verma former md of worldspace radio have bought homes in a niche project frangipani country estates the project consists of 35 country estates with average plot size of 058 acres and estates sized between 13718 sqft and 56284 sqft prices of the units range between rs 35 crore and rs 8 crore the land price here is less than 10 of what you would pay in indiranagar or koramangala besides it is not possible to afford a halfacre home within city limits says bagaria whose company is