Panaji, June 8 (IANS) Land crunch in Goa could force real estate developers in the state to look for better options elsewhere in the country, an investment advisory firm said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after announcing the opening of a Goa branch of the Neostar Posiview Capital Advisors (NPCA), the firm's managing director Vineet Deo said the obvious areas for real estate majors from Goa were Pune or coastal Maharashtra.

"The real estate industry in Goa is facing a land crunch. The most obvious route for them is to look for other areas near Goa like Pune or coastal Maharashtra where volumes are high," Deo said.

Mega housing projects have faced stiff resistance in Goa from civil society groups who have objected to the fact that the real estate lobby has converted Goa into a market for investment-oriented second homes.

The Goa government was also forced to cancel seven special economic zone (SEZ) projects in 2008, several of which were promoted by real estate companies, in face of public opposition to the real estate intensive projects.

Deo also said that Goa's tourism industry players also needed to look at investment in other larger and developing tourism-oriented regions like Rajasthan and the beach belt of Maharashtra to replicate the success which tourism enterprises in Goa had attained over the years.

He added that Goa was a logical extension for small and medium enterprises (SME) because of the state's proximity to Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.

"Goa being in close proximity to Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune has substantial growth potential in the SME industrial expansion space," Deo said.

"The fast-growing next generation of Goan entrepreneurs present tremendous excitement to investment bankers looking to take Goan businesses beyond its geographical boundaries," he added.