Should you buy property in a religious location?

When 32-year-old Anuja Wagle and her family moved into a new house in the western suburbs of Mumbai 10 years ago, they had no idea of its proximity to a famous temple. "We bought the house as the property rate was very low then and the price fit our budget. We believe that we were lucky to get a house that shares the temple's boundary wall," she says.

As the suburb developed and shops came up, the housing demand also rose, and most of this demand was centred in the vicinity of the temple. "Over the years, the popularity of the temple has also increased. This is why the property rates in this area have gone up tremendously since the past couple of years," adds Wagle.

Does this mean that one should buy a house near a place of worship as the price appreciation will be highest there? Will you earn a good rental income from such a property? This will probably be true for some areas, but not always. While religious hotspots guarantee a stream of devotees, and thus, increased income and rentals, realty experts caution property buyers of certain pitfalls of buying a property in such areas.