BANGALORE: Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have started taking keen interest in the real estate sector back home following significant appreciation of the dollar vis-a-vis the rupee, a top official of housing finance company said today.

"NRIs have started taking keen interest due to the appreciation of the dollar. They have started converting the dollar into rupee", Director and CEO of LIC Housing Finance Ltd, Vijay Kumar Sharma, told reporters here.

NRI interest is "perceptible and visible", he said, adding LICHFL's Dubai and Kuwait offices (catering to NRIs investing back home) have "lot of enquiries and log-in" and "compared to last year, the growth (there) is 50-60 per cent".

Sharma also said the Bangalore metro rail project would transform the real estate sector in this city in three years, similar to what happened in Delhi.

"Metro completely transformed the entire (real estate) profile. This is going to happen in Bangalore also in the next three years. I am sure about it"", he added.

Referring to a just-released study, Sharma said the Bangalore real estate market is looking up again after two years, and demand has gone up.

LICHFL today kicked off a three-day property expo here, with participation of more than 50 builders who are showcasing more than 250 projects.

The maximum processing fee for the visitors at the exhibition - NIMMA MANE 2012 - is Rs 5,000 plus service tax, a "high rebate" as Sharma put it, adding, "normally, processing fee is one per cent of the total amount".