Track2Realty Exclusive: Coming out of the shadow of Gurgaon-Manesar the once sleepy town in Bhiwadi is fast shedding the tag of affordable destination. What was initially conceptualised as an affordable residential market for those who could not afford high property prices in Gurgaon and for the industries that could settle in a moderately priced market has shaped up so very well that Bhiwadi today has emerged as a case study in how even the extension of a satellite town should be positioned.
At a time when the Government of India has promised to create 100 new cities, the urban planners are also looking curiously at the Bhiwadi property market to find a method amidst the otherwise urban madness of many other cities.
What actually makes the positioning of Bhiwadi an interesting case study for the urban planners is the fact that Bhiwadi is fast scaling up on the aspiration level of the residents and luxury & lifestyle seems to be the in-thing. Facts speak for themselves. From luxury housing projects to five star hotels and high end malls to big brands, it seems they have all found a comfort zone in nestling in the city and most of them are here to stay.
Analysts believe credit to a large extent goes to the expat working professionals whose quest for lifestyle choices have raised the bar in the city, and the real estate developers have no choice but to offer projects and amenities at par with any other metro cities to match the expectations.
Most of the recent property launches in Bhiwadi indicate that the USP of the city is no more its tag of affordable zone. Even the advertisements of various projects which till yesterday were focussed on the affordability have changed to amenities and fancy offerings. Till a couple of years back most of the new launches were in the below Rs. 2500 per sq feet whereas many of the new launches nowadays are even above Rs. 4000 per sq feet, despite of otherwise slowdown in the rest of the property markets.
Not only this, the quest for luxury and lifestyle also reflects in the kind of amenities and add-on features that the developers are offering now. Moreover, the size of the project itself is becoming large with single tower standalone buildings making room for big ticket projects and multi-utility offerings becoming the USP of the projects.
Dhirender Gaba, Managing Director of Fairwealth Housing agrees that the emergence of luxury and lifestyle in Bhiwadi is here to stay. According to him, unlike many other locations where the nouveau riche are the ones who gained the spending power after disposing off the parental land and property, in Bhiwadi most of the luxury and lifestyle seekers are the highly skilled young working professionals. Experience across the country suggests that in whichever markets young expat professionals have been the project riders; generally the trend in those places has been for the high end projects.
“Our due diligence of the market of Bhiwadi goaded us to launch luxury project since Bhiwadi is no more a retirement destination. It is an emerging corporate city where the young expat professionals are seeking the same kind of luxury and lifestyle that they are witness to in the neighbouring Gurgaon market. The entry of more and more corporate sector in the city is increasingly redefining the aspiration level in this part of the world since the disposable income has equipped the buyers to go for high end projects. It is hard to believe how Bhiwadi has changed in the last few years,” says Gaba.
Navneet Gaur, Director, Brys Group maintains that a lot has changed in the last few years in Bhiwadi. She believes more job opportunities in industries have only aided the change in lifestyle of the people and the outsiders too now prefer to stay and even settle in Bhiwadi. The city today bears a modern outlook and though it is difficult to quantify how long Bhiwadi will take to catch up with the peer destinations like Gurgaon, Mumbai or Pune in terms of lifestyle changes, but at least the city registers its presence as a corporate attraction point for the investors.
“The fact is that Bhiwadi is today witness to the first wave of lifestyle exposure and the aspiration for luxury is increasingly changing the way Bhiwadi has been traditionally positioned as a city. Seen as a poor cousin of Gurgaon and Manesar on the given index of quality living, Bhiwadi has woken up to lifestyle options only in the last couple of years. In terms of demand-supply dynamics the developers initially had their focus on the affordable residential segment, yet Bhiwadi is getting ready for the lifestyle experience. It may take time before one can vouchsafe that a paradigm shift has happened in the overall lifestyle pattern of the city, but it is definitely on the high growth trajectory” says Gaur.
Neeraj Bansal, Partner, KPMG, Real Estate & Construction at KPMG India finds a method in the proliferating of luxury and lifestyle options in the city. He believes the emerging satellite town is considered high on housing demands and low on luxury cost. The location has a direct connection with the eight-lane road to Gurgaon on the one side and Jaipur on the other side. In addition to connectivity, the other factors that make it interesting for the investor are low property rates, new infrastructure, low cost of living, low population density and low pollution levels.
“Bhiwadi is home to a large number of industrial units, and given its proximity to all major towns of NCR, it is emerging as a residential hub. Many real estate players are setting up their projects here. The residential sector is contributing to the growth of Bhiwadi region and its contribution is expected to increase in the near future. Being part of the 2021, National Capital Region Plan, Bhiwadi has of late witnessed increased residential and commercial activity,” says Bansal.
The smooth connectivity to the capital and with all of its surrounding industrial settlements, Bhiwadi has received mega push to flourish as a lifestyle driven corporate city Bhiwadi is no doubt emerging as a model corporate city. According to Master Plan of Greater Bhiwadi 2013, the Greater Bhiwadi Complex comprising Bhiwadi, Tapukara, and Khushkhera has been outlined as the priority areas for the overall spatial development.
Good number of healthcare facilities, including private clinics and hospitals, nursing homes and government hospitals are located here. Shopping complexes and malls are also coming up fast. Top-notch recreation facilities like Treehouse, Classic Golf Course, Wet & Wild Resort, Country Club Resort and Heritage Village are in proximity too.
Analysts maintain that in order to make Bhiwadi further attractive for big ticket investment, including large amount FDI, the government has proposed several measures in and around the region – like among the seven NIMZ along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), one is at Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana belt, which is already approved, two new airports — in Neemrana and Jodhpur, the operational Dharuhera-Bhiwadi Bypass Road, Bullet Train from Delhi to Neemrana etc are some of the proposals that are bound to take Bhiwadi on the World Map.
In a nutshell, even though Bhiwadi for long has been seen as a poor cousin of Gurgaon, it is nevertheless following the same growth pattern that took Gurgaon forward to arguably India’s best corporate city. In the process the city of Bhiwadi had to weather the multiple challenges, ranging from the tag of affordable destination to distant location and many such other perception issues in the initial stages.
However, the basic DNA of the city- corporate sector, jobs, disposable income and lifestyle seeking young professionals- have definitely changed the outlook of Bhiwadi. How many extensions of satellite towns across the world can have such vast luxury of choices?
