How is the residential market of Mumbai?

The realty market of Mumbai is a very attractive one and has drawn the interest of both the property buyers and the investors. The market has been sluggish in the recent days due to over pricing of the properties. The commercial market is very active and so the residential market can never remain sluggish and the market is all set to come back on track soon.

There are several reasons for Mumbai being the favourite among the home buyers. The market is driven by both end users and investors equally. The increased investor activity is one of the prime factors which have strongly impacted the property prices. This has driven the prices to unrealistic heights. The realty segment of the market is one of the best options for investment as this offer good returns over the years. This has drawn the interests among the investors in the market. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are also major contributors to the growth of the residential market of the city. NRI investors prefer residential projects in Mumbai for a number of reasons. The prime localities of the Mumbai city offer high standards of living which moreover match the international standards. Though the suburbs lack the international standards, the prime micro markets enjoy the best of both physical and social infrastructure.

The suburbs of Mumbai are seeing decent numbers of project launches and this will add to the supply of the residential projects. Developers are seeing fewer takers for under construction projects in Mumbai majorly due to the delays faced. There are a decent number of projects coming up. Recently, Tata Housing Development Company and the prominent developer Neptune Group have entered into an agreement to develop a 10-acre residential project in Mumbai, more precisely in Bhandup, an eastern suburb of Mumbai. Another renowned builder, Ahuja Constructions are getting a fund of Rs. 25 crores from BlackSoil Realty Fund–I to develop a project in Sion (E). There are projects coming up in the suburbs rather than the prime localities.

Though the market remains sluggish, the market will soon be back on its track. The delay in the infrastructure developments is another factor which makes a negative impact on the realty segment. The prime areas are blessed with a good infrastructure and so the prices are far beyond the affordable range. Speeding up the stalled and delayed projects will help the micro markets located in and around.

The property buyers after a prolonged hold on the buying idea are making a comeback. It is observed that the housing registrations increased by 15% with 43, 608 units in the first seven months of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. The combined effort by the government and the builders by lowering the interest rate and discounts from the builders, the sales are picking up.

People are looking for affordable properties and this is available only in the suburbs of Mumbai. For home buyers, the micro market with good connectivity should be preferred. It is advised to avoid new projects in Mumbai and for home buyers ready to occupy apartments are the best option.

Mira Road – An ideal destination in Mumbai for affordable home buyers

Mira Road has been the most preferred destination in Mumbai among the home buyers who look for budget homes. Since the inception of the locality in 1985, the real estate developers have been engaged in buying agricultural land and began to developing townships with budget dwellings.

With extensive mangroves, salt pans and lush green stretches, Mira Road is certainly a haven for end-users looking for budget homes in Mumbai. In the recent past, Mira Road has been witnessing several civic infrastructure development. Besides, the locality posses excellent social infrastructure with the presence of reputed schools, hospitals, restaurants and shopping malls and cinema theaters.

The locality's seamless connectivity to Mumbai has been playing a major role in increasing the demand for residential property here. With the presence of Western Express Highway in the vicinity, the Mira-Bhayander belt gets easy accessibility to the western suburbs and Thane can be reach via Ghodbunder Road. Owing to it's proximity to Mumbai and seamless connectivity through road and rail, Mira Road has emerged as the highly preferred area in the western suburbs especially for home buyers who are looking for 2 bhk flats in Mira Road. Particularly, the demand for buying flats in Mira Road has been high among the working professionals who are looking for affordable homes in Mumbai. With several residential projects being developed here, the locality offers multiple home buying options for the end-users.

When compared to other property types, the locality consists of more multi-storey apartments with smaller housing units. Some of the major builders constructing multi-storey residential projects here include Lodha Group, Chheda Group, Leena Group, Jangid Group, Vardhaman Group, Sanghvi Group, Ackrutiy City, Kalpataru-dynamix Group, RNA Crop., DB Realty, Space Realty, Strawberry Construction, Raj Realty, and Ram Nagar Development Corporation.

Watch out for builder’s antics when buying a property

Owning atleast a piece of realty is what everyone wishes for. To make that dream come true many slog, save whatever they could or avail a loan. This is why real estate business has seldom dipped since the year 2002. Though many of the nationalised banks and private banks offer low interest rates while taking home loans, they often miss to address the grievances especially when the property developers fleece them. In this unregulated realty market, property developers always have an upper hand over the home buyers as they have already established a good rapport with the banks and their personnel. Banks too act in favor of the developers as they provide them good business and that too in a consistent manner. As an effect, housing and property related complaints have risen in tandem with the rise in the number of projects.

The reason for the rise in complaints are many. Let us look at some of the common and major ones here. In most of the cases, the time taken to complete housing project normally exceeds the agreed delivery date and by that time the home buyer would have paid ninety percent of the value. If the home buyer had been living in a rented property he would end up paying the rent as well as the loan amount. In spite of all these hardships buyers remain calm fearing harassmet, retribution and further delay in completing the project and fail to make the builder hold responsible for his act.

There are instances where property developers purposely forget to hand over the completion certificate to the buyers especially if they had built structures deviating from the original plan. Buyers may face lot of hassles without this completion certificate. Without it, they will not be in a position to have their property registered, obtain utility connections, sell, mortgage or even reverse mortgage the property. They also have to live in the fear of getting their unapproved portion bulldozed by municipal authorities, anytime. Quality of the structure has always been a subject of controversy. Once entered into a agreement to construct, builders often brush off their responsibility to construct a structure of good quality. Many a time, buyers feel the heat once they have occupied the building and feel cheated if the quality is compromised.

Instead of blaming it all on the property promoters and developers, it is actually the responsibility of the buyers to stay vigil. To avoid delays in delivery, they should go visit the site of construction from time to time, check the situation and act accordingly. If they feel that the quality is being compromised they can always take up the issue with the legal department or the builder himself and sort it out in an amicable manner. While making an agreement it is always better to put down all the points in black and white to avoid confusion and disappointments at a later date. Visiting the developer’s earlier projects and speaking to their customers to know the actual situation will be of great help to decide on whether to strike a deal with that particular developer or not.

Author bio: Sulabha is a resident of Mumbai and has a penchant for all things bright and beautiful. A known person among blogger circles, enjoys writing for IndiaProperty.com about realty and has good information on Flats for sale in Thane

What the factors that are driving real estate in Mumbai

Mumbai is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. The city is the finance capital of the country and is known to be the maximum city. Many of the central business districts in the market are very expensive. Those who reside in these posh addresses are celebrities and businessmen with a lot of money at their disposal.
So what are those who are on a budget to do when it comes to looking for housing in the city? The answer is moving your property search to the suburban areas of the city. If one looks at the way most of the metros are expanding it is the peripheral and suburban areas which are gaining popularity. These micro markets might not be up there when it comes to infrastructure. But that is changing and changing at a fast pace.

Over all here is a look at what buyers have been look at when it comes to a property search in Mumbai so far in 2015. 1 BHK apartments are the most preferred apartment type here. This is followed 2 and 3 BHKs. Buyers are showing a marked preference for small sized new Mumbai property. This is because space is already very scarce in the city and buyers end up paying quite a bit for these spaces.  The most sought after apartment size falls between 501 to 750 square feet. This is followed by the less than 500 square feet range and the 751 to 1000 square feet. The takers for any residential apartments in Mumbai which is more than 2000 square feet are very few in number.
 
People are looking for affordable properties in this market. The budget range for which property search in Mumbai is happening at a great pace falls between INR 10 to 50 lakhs. There is some interest for properties which fall between the INR 1 to the above 5 crores range as well. Buyers are looking for properties which are priced above INR 10000 per square feet on average. This fact again proves how expensive it is to purchase a new Mumbai property.
One of the infrastructure projects which is set to drive the real estate sector of the city is the metro rail project. Line 1 between Versova–Andheri–Ghatkopar is operational. The impact of the metro on the localities in this Line is already quite visible. The prices for properties here has been steadily on the rise. There are three more lines in the pipeline. Experts suggest that property prices tend to appreciate by at 20 percent for localities which are within a 2 km radius from a metro station.
 
Some of the hot property destinations in the city as Vasai, Badlapur, Nala Sopara, and Kalyan. The one factor that is common across all these micro markets is that they are all affordable property destinations. They are also well connected to the main business districts of the city making them attractive to buyers who are on a budget.