Demand from expatriates and the diplomatic community has led to a 15 per cent increase in the rents of apartments in Delhi in the last three months.

Prime locations such as Prithviraj Road and Aurangzeb Road, which were attracting a rent of Rs 120,000-175,000 per month in July, have now shot to Rs 135,000 to Rs 200,000 per month.

Other areas like Chanakyapuri, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar have also shown a similar upswing in the rentals, as per a report by real estate consultant Cushman and Wakefield.

Areas like Panchsheel, Anand Lok, Niti Bagh and New Friends Colony, which were otherwise in the bracket of Rs 40,000-70,000 per month are now attracting between Rs 50,000-Rs 90,000. The NCRs like Noida and Gurgaon have seen a hike from Rs 15,000-70,000 to about Rs 25,000p-Rs 80,000.

Experts attribute this sharp increase to the leasing of service apartments by expatriates. "Various embassies have leased out large spaces in the capital as well as in the NCR which have flared up the rentals.

Several MNCs took up nearly 15,000 sq ft of residential space on lease in prime residential locations in Delhi with an effective rent of Rs 80,000 to Rs 200,000 per month which pushed up demand leading to steep price hike," said Sanjay Verma, joint managing director of C&W.

In Vasant Vihar, an embassy leased a 3,000 sq ft apartment for a rent of above Rs 200,000 and in Golf Links, a multinational bank leased an independent 800 sq yard house for Rs 275,000 lakh per month. In Gurgaon, an American MNC leased a 3,800 sq ft apartment for Rs 68,000 per month.

Meanwhile, the capital values have remained fairly stagnant in these areas in the last three months. It is, however, areas like New Friends Colony, Maharani Bagh, Greater Kailash and Hauz Khas that have seen a nearly 10 per cent increase in capital values to Rs 4,000-8,000 per sq feet.

"Micro-markets, such as South Delhi, are showing a steep rise in demand and capital price because industrialists, businessmen and politicians are parking their funds in real estate to earn high rents in these areas," Verma said.