Property prices are rising fast as the tech boom spreads across the country.

When Farallon Capital Management, a U.S. hedge fund, and its joint-venture partner, Indiabulls, snapped up an 11-acre property in central Mumbai in March 2005 for $54.5 million an acre, the purchase was called an act of idiocy by local developers. A few months later, when the same joint venture offered $95.5 million an acre for a nearby property, its was the second-lowest bid.

Property prices in India are rising fast, and not just in the biggest cities. As the tech boom spreads across the country, as more Indians buy homes, and as the economy grows at faster than 8% a year, real estate is attracting more investors, many of them from abroad.

“India is one of the last few countries where there is primary demand for real estate rather than individuals trading up,” says Rajiv Sahney, who runs the India operations of New Vernon Advisory, a $1.4 billion New Jersey hedge fund.