Mumbai, the metro city in India, not like other metro cities in India has shown reawakening in the real estate and property enquiries in the last 2-3 quarters. Compared to the same period last year, the new constructions have doubled in the first half of 2018 giving clue to the improved realty dynamics of the city.
Mumbai’s real estate market, in the last three quarters, has marked a slight improvement in housing sales, chiefly in the affordable and mid-income segments. The increased demand and enquiries in these segments in the recent quarters along with inert property rates drove the buyers towards closing the deals. Economical housing has gained healthy buyer adherence in the last 2-3 years with introduction of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the government’s chief programme aimed at providing low-cost housing across the country. The increase in sales volume has aided the city to consume its piling housing inventory.
In terms of buyer preference and new project launches, some areas are reportedly performing better than others. Some of the localities where a few new launches have been reported include Panvel, Kalyan-Shilphata Road and Naigaon-Vasai. In the commercial sector, Navi Mumbai has launched a number of new projects.
Reasons behind positive movement in Mumbai’s realty sector
RERA implementation
The Indian real estate market has marked quite a lot of life changing shifts over the past couple of years. With the application of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), developers are becoming more organised and customer-centered by furnishing complete status of development and delivery. The more developers and builders getting acclimatized to the new reforms brought in by RERA and Goods and Services Tax (GST), the absorption rate of ready homes has gained strength.
Lucrative offers
There is another reason behind the recovery of the sector and that is a number of developers in the city offered profitable payment schemes, including free stamp duty and registration fee, maintenance fee during the festive season. The major role was played by discount deals in attracting fence-sitters back to the market, it resulted in greater sales during the period. Sanghvi says that the trend is expected to continue until the year-end.
Focus on completing ongoing projects
In next 9–12 months, home sales are expected to increase many times as developers are putting greater emphasis on completing ongoing projects. Ready homes have been the buyers’ favourite as they do not attract GST. As per the report, about 70-80 percent of the residential projects in Mumbai are old projects, which are expected to be finished in the next 7-8 months. With most of such projects nearing completion now, buyers are resuming and coming up more confident for finalising the purchase.
Infrastructure development
It has been observed that builders are focusing on bringing in new projects at locations that have the most ambitious infrastructure projects. Areas such as Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon and Malad are getting back the strength on the back of smooth accessibility to the Western Express Highway, airport and metros. Other main locations such as Sion, Ghatkopar and Chembur in the central part of the city have also stated an arrival of new projects.
Is it the best time to invest in Mumbai real estate ?
The augmented regulation and more transparency in the real estate sector has no doubt turned the tables for realty stakeholders. The current moment is definitely the best time to invest in real estate, across India. Mumbai, in particular, makes a profitable market owing to its burgeoning economy, shrinking housing supply and stabilised property prices. The entry of new projects at affordable prices also makes Mumbai and its surrounding cities a potential investment hub.
