JC Sharma has been witness to the emergence of Bangalore as the ‘Destination Indian Realty’. He feels it is not just the business potential of the city that makes it an investment magnet. Rather, there are real estate related catalytic factors, like the developers’ focus on end-users, innovation with the product and adoption of advanced technology that makes Bangalore numero uno of Indian real estate.
This 126 km long Virar – Alibaug Multi Modal Corridor will connect NH-8, Bhiwandi bypass, NH-3, NH-4 and NH-4B, Mumbai-Pune Expressway, NH-17, etc. Out of this 126 km corridor, 79 km long Virar (Navghar) to Chirner (JNPT) corridor has been declared financially feasible and has been approved by the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) in March, 2012.
There is currently a shortage of 20 million homes. By 2030, 590 million Indians will live in cities, necessitating a further $2.1 trillion of capital investment in infrastructure. The challenge to house the future population is urban in scope and unprecedented in scale.
What makes Mumbai a global real estate market to bet on? There are many USPs of the city property market to make it a global property market, like luxury landscape of the city; its positioning as a job market; social life of Mumbai; investment in the city; appreciation potential; and insulation against price crash. Mumbai is one of those markets that have also weathered the slowdown challenges without crash; not even New York, London or Dubai have this distinction.
ASSOCHAM has urged the Government, National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to treat homebuyers in real estate projects at par, if not above banks in the pecking order, by providing a separate carve-out for those stuck in the incomplete construction, and any legal hurdle should be immediately removed, by a Presidential Ordinance, if need be.
A high rental growth was seen mostly in South cities like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad where y-o-y change ranged between 8-17% at some locations. In H1 2017, Bengaluru and Hyderabad both witnessed single digit vacancy levels hovering between 8-9% due to a dearth of quality Grade A stock, thus leading to increased rental values in some micro markets.
There are very few case studies where the developers have flocked out to cities on sheer promise without registering their presence in the four metro cities. However, such migration to magnet territory is today quite visible in Gujarat where the developers from other states are increasingly flocking, most notably in the city of Ahmedabad.
The question is in the absence of high paying economic activity like IT/ITeS will the city keep the desired pace to sustain the projected growth and the life style. Critics often point out that in the absence of steadfast pace of economic activity the market may end up being another investors’ haven. However, developers active in this market maintain that more employment opportunities have seen people preferring to stay in Bhiwadi than commute to work. Also, a large number of floating population from nearby cities and across the country is still high, which needs to be catered to in terms of their aspiration and lifestyle choices. The rise of nuclear families have further seen emergence of more demand for dwelling units in the region.
When one develops a slum, for instance, and even if 20 per cent of land is given for commercial use as incentive in the bargain, it is a deal for the developer. After all, in the space starved city like Mumbai even a small chunk of land in any of the prime location is a rare commodity. The question is if such a business dynamics is a feasible model, why did the developers shied away from making the best of it so far.
Reports of price correction, more often than not, seem to conceal more than it reveal on the pulse of the property barometer. The answer as to whether this is the right time to buy is not a simple yes or no, but it depends on a number of factors like whether a buyer is looking for first or second house, for living or investment, if investment then it is for the long run or short run etc.