Bottom Line: The homebuyers & residents of Navi Mumbai give a thumbs up to Navi Mumbai International Airport; dismiss apprehensions of traffic bottlenecks or environmental degradation.
To say that Navi Mumbai Property market has rewarded the first movers would be stating the obvious. The areas in and around NAINA (Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area) has seen sizeable appreciation in property prices ever since the airport was announced.
However, with the overall slowdown in the property market the property prices have stabilised over here in the last few years. The critics have hence termed it as the peak point of this market from where the prices would not appreciate any further.
This perception is nevertheless proving to be an outside view of the Navi Mumbai property market. Of course, the price appreciation was not happening in the last few quarters due to overall sluggish demand in this part of the world. But the catalyst of property appreciation in this market has yet again reigniting the demand and the expected price appreciation is very much on the cards.
With the expectations of Navi Mumbai International Airport becoming a reality, the property market is suddenly back in the demand. This has also made the mood of the Navi Mumbai residents very upbeat. They believe the real rise and growth of Navi Mumbai is not behind but ahead.
Rakesh Sharma, an exporter in Airoli maintains that he had come to this region a decade back only because of the airport. The price appreciation of his apartment since then has just been a bonus. And now with the airport becoming reality, this place is all set to emerge as a global destination. This will definitely prove to be demand driver, leading to another sizeable appreciation in the market.
“I have been lucky to get rewarded 300% over my investment in Navi Mumbai. Mind you! I had not even dreamt of this kind of appreciation so fast. All that I had expected at that point of time was that this market would give fantastic returns once the airport is operational. But then I could get more than my expectations much before that,” says an ecstatic Sharma.
This exporter is not alone in getting rewarded as a homebuyer in Navi Mumbai. Rachna Shah, a banker had come to this market around 5 years back. Of course, the property prices since then have not appreciated as much as during the preceding years. But yet, she is very bullish on Navi Mumbai and its prospects once the international airport is operational. She is also planning to buy her second apartment in or around Ulwe.
“I know that the property prices have been quite moderate in Navi Mumbai ever since I made my first investment over here. But I rather feel that it is good in a way that this market is not attracting the short term traders. I am buying my second property as an investment for the long term. I am also conscious of the fact that in the next couple of years this market will give the kind of returns that no other property market across the country would offer. It is just a wait for the airport to be operational,” says Shah.
Buyers’ vote of confidence with airport
Homebuyers upbeat with the expectations of Navi Mumbai International Airport to be a reality
Expectations of sizeable appreciation behind buyers’ confidence
Emergence of a global city is being anticipated
Buyers dismiss traffic congestion issues and environmental degradation with a greenfield airport project
This also brings to the table the fact that the areas closer to the airport are generally crowded zones. But the residents of Navi Mumbai don’t seem to agree with it.
“On the contrary, I feel Navi Mumbai International Airport is not like any other old airports. It is going to be the most ultra-modern and well planned airport where the infrastructure and traffic planning are at par with international standards,” says Mary Joseph, an NRI from Muscat who recently shifted to Navi Mumbai.
Across the world, major infrastructure projects like the airport also draw sharp criticism for the environmental degradation that they potentially cause. While the activists might be having their own perception as far as airport in Navi Mumbai is concerned, but the voice vote of Navi Mumbai homebuyers is that it is a non-issue with this project.
“This is going to be largest greenfield airport. So, where is the question of environmental degradation. On the contrary, I feel we need many more such greenfield projects in Navi Mumbai to make it what it was actually conceptualised – a global trading city,” says Manik Patel, a resident of Karjat.
So, the voice vote across Navi Mumbai is that once the International Airport is operational, the city will grow manifold. It will be a new wave of development across Navi Mumbai and it is time to invest in the city. Now this consumer confidence has started translating into property transactions too. This definitely has a symbiotic relation with the price appreciation ahead.
There is no apprehension of any traffic bottleneck or environmental degradation either. This consumer confidence will definitely be a catalyst to the emergence of Navi Mumbai as a global city and International Airport will be key to its growth engine.
Ravi Sinha
