Kochi: The occupancy observed was only around 30 per cent as most of the buyers are considering property buying as the investment option. Most of the existing housing apartments are unoccupied due to the low occupancy in the city. The property investment gives the best returns and it is now becoming the most profitable investment. Occupancy in the apartment housing was at its lowest around 25-30 per cent in the city. People are turning to property investment as it gives the profitable and best income returns.The 70 per cent of apartment buyers in Kochi are NRIs which is leading to the more vacant places in the city. Most of these NRIs plan to move back to the city after few years hence the apartments remain untouched for that time span.The land cost in Kochi has been escalated in the past few years; the rate for the apartment units is approximately Rs 3,000 to 3,500 per sq ft. Now-a-days builders are rather opting for the luxury apartments as the labor and building cost are same for both affordable housing and luxurious housing. Affordable housing projects are mostly seen on the fringes of the city as the land prices are cheaper in these areas.Apartment units sitting idle are increasing with the increase in the investment of the buyers considering the real estate as the asset in the city. The government should put some restriction on idle property to reduce the increasing number of vacant apartments in the city. The Land Use Act must be taken seriously as its enforcement will help to reduce the large scale misuse of land.Kochi Corporation‘s Chairman of the Town Planning Committee said that the development model adopted by builders was inappropriate for the city. The real estate development was twice the population growth in Kochi which resulted in the unoccupied property increase.