Investing in property in South Mumbai has never been easier than ever before. There is steep price decline in recent times. At the same time developers in the suburbs, central and north west Mumbai are also offering seductive discouts that are simply hard to ignore.
But as counter argument, recent inflation and escalation commodity prices have taken toll on india’s biggest real estate market. Mumbai definitely is the biggest real estate market in india, has recently witnessed decline sucessivily for last 12 months, down to about 25 percent.
Even after the slump real estate prices hasn’t been revised, cause know best to the authorities. Possibily real estate market will react to the volatity in the stock market in upcoming months.
The once-sky-rocketing prices are now starting to settle down, if only just. Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
However, the upcoming metro and monorail projects which will connect high-density corridors to distant parts of the city, have already triggered an increase in real estate prices in corridors through which the Metro will run. As a direct consequence, areas such as Versova, Andheri, Ghatkopar, Chembur and Mankhurd have started seeing a rapid increase in real estate prices.
The undervalued are now getting their due
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Recently the prices in wadala east have gone up from 3000 to 4000 a square feet that reaches to around 15 thousand in past three years and to it speculation contributes it more than the demand.
“If you look at the price movement in eastern parts of Chembur, Vadala and Ghatkopar there is an inbuilt escalation of prices. Lodha’s aggressive bid for the Wadala Truck Terminus included a contained cost of Rs 12,500 per sq feet, which means the launch price will easily be Rs 15,000 sq feet, says Dipesh Sohani, an analyst at MF Global.
Central and South Mumbai tell a different story
However, areas in Central Mumbai and the western suburbs have already started witnessing a price correction due to a demand-supply mismatch. Says Pittawala: “Deals in Lower Parel are being done at negotiated rates because the market is overpriced, money supply is less and people want to hold on to cash.”
According to Pittawala, for an investment, buyers should look at Bandra East, Andheri and beyond for affordable homes. For those willing to pay between Rs 3 to Rs 4 crore for a 2bhk, Bandra East is the ideal investment destination as it is not too cramped and is easily accessible due to the Bandra-Worli sea link.
Another real estate agent, Rahul Shah, said in Eastern and Central Mumbai, for homes that are less than two km from the station have experienced an average capital appreciation of 15 percent, where as those that are five to six km away have increased just five percent on an average.
Sohani, however warns that central parts of Mumbai like Parel, Lower Parel are already witnessing a price correction due to lower absorption run rates, unsold inventory and constant pressure on developers to complete projects. “Developers like RNA, Kalpataru and HDIL have already started offering various discounts to buyers and prices will come down by 15 to 20 percent by the next quarter. He cited the example of Kalpataru Aura, which is offering a corporate discount of 5 to 10 percent in its property in Ghatkopar West. “If buyers want a good discount, they should go through an agent who will book flats in bulk,” he added.
The cash crunch
Housing Development Infrastructure Limited, a leading real estate developer in Mumbai, has already begun to offer a 15 percent discount on its Goregaon property because of oversupply issues. There is a liquidity crunch in the real estate market, said Sohani. Of late no big deals are coming through because financing has dried up and loans have become too expensive. In fact the company has also put five million square feet of land parcel at Virar on the block in order to pay off its debt.
Given the current environment, Angel Broking’s Lilaney feels now is the right time for NRIs to invest in property because the rupee has depreciated considerably. “NRIs could get a deal at a 30 percent discount right now — a 15 percent discount from the developer and another 15 percent due to the dollar appreciation,” says Lilaney. However, Pittwala, says the time is not ripe for NRI investment since most of them are from Middle East countries and are directly impacted by the value of the euro.
So where should home-buyers and investors put their money? There are essentially two themes playing out in the Indian real estate sector. One is the re-development of old properties and the other being development of new infrastructure like Metro rail and airports across the country. “Marquee properties are the ones that set new record for prices. It will be a good idea to buy premium properties by reputed builders,” says Ramesh Jogani, managing director of Indiareit Fund Advisors, which manages over Rs 1,900 crore.
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