Bottom Line: Known for its famous chest hospital, the flourishing of IT industry since mid 1990s and the migration of young expat population seems to have changed the urban outlook of Aundh, thus making it a thriving suburb and a property hotspot.
The last two decades have been scripting the glory of this suburb of Pune with the information technology, software and manufacturing sectors finding a natural home in the vicinity and the expat population increasingly finding it to be an ideal place to settle.
As a result, Aundh is today a preferable residential option in and around Pune and is also home to hundreds of restaurants and its social infrastructure index is ever increasing to make it a truly cosmopolitan suburb.
For an outside view, near 100 restaurants, filled with the young crowd and its overall social outlook gives the impression of this once sleepy hamlet to be a Central Business District (CBD) of the city. Its social infrastructure often gives it resemblance to any upmarket Mumbai address.
Aundh is today an affluent suburb in the North-West of Pune which is no longer referred in collective consciousness for its chest hospital alone. It is now known more for its posh localities.
Aundh can be divided into the old Aundh Gaon (Aundh Village) and the newly constructed suburban areas. Famous areas are Sindh Society, National Society, Parihar Chowk, Anand Park, Ashiyana Park, Gaikwad Nagar amongst many.
The areas along the University Road, after Governor House, up to Rajiv Gandhi Bridge on Mula River, across which is Sangvi (the famous Aundh Chest Hospital) in one direction and Spicer college region to Baner comes under Aundh.
The region that was like a sleepy hamlet till the mid 1990s has today shaped up as a self-sustained locality, and is actually comparable with some of the best suburban areas across the nation. Property analysts maintain that Aundh is one of the best residential areas in Pune, the way Koregaon Park is termed as the best commercial area in Pune. The area today is among the most plush and upmarket in the city, owing to extremely high real estate prices.
The IT and software business seems to have transformed the very outlook of the city. Due to its proximity to the University of Pune and one of the software technology parks at Hinjewadi it has scaled up pretty well as a cosmopolitan urban centre of the city.
The real estate prices in this area have seen a huge uptrend which has been largely driven by the demand coming from IT professionals as well as migrants from various parts of the country. Its proximity to the Mumbai – Pune Expressway and connectivity to Shivaji Nagar makes it a preferable location of the city. Since there is increasing demand for residential properties in the region, many schools and recreation centres have found a lucrative area with a captive audience who has got the disposable income.
Aundh is a popular hangout destination for the cosmopolitan crowd of Pune. The area is also a major hub for business as there are many companies, high end showrooms, state of the art health clubs and upscale recreational outlets.
In terms of property prices the residential prices are range bound between Rs. 7000 per sq feet to INR 9000 per sq feet, depending on the type of property and location. It has been constantly appreciating in the last three years, despite of otherwise slowdown in the city property market.
The analysts tracking the market in this part of the world, however, maintain the real growth potential is much more and a property rally is pretty soon expected that could take the rates in the region above INR 10,000 per sq feet.
