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A sign of better things to come?
The recent positive activity in Mumbai’s premium residential market could be indicative of a market revival across the country
W hen some prominent developers in Mumbai recently announced the launch of new residential projects, they were in for a pleasant surprise with the response they received.
Homebuyers were surprisingly more open to closing deals after months of inactivity. While this has certainly set a trend of sorts and created ripples in the Mumbai residential market, it remains to be seen if there will be repetition of the same in the Delhi-NCR and other realty markets.
The flurry of activity in Mumbai included Godrej Properties Ltd selling 300 apartments within a week at its flagship project, The Trees, in Vikhroli. The project is a 34-acre mixed-use development project. The first phase of the premium residential component of the project has 374 apartments, of which the company claims to have sold over 80% in the first week of the launch. The apartments include 450 sq ft one-bedroom apartments and 2,400 sq ft penthouses. Prices start from Rs. 1.7 crore and penthouses cost Rs. 8 crore.
Prior to this the Lodha Group had launched limited edition residences at World One in Lower Parel and another project in south Mumbai’s Altamount Road where 415 apartments were reportedly sold. Oberoi Realty also claimed to have sold over 500 units during the launch of their Borivali project.
Given buyer interest in Mumbai, one would certainly be interested in seeing if Delhi follows Mumbai’s lead and if some activity is seen in its markets.
Real estate experts say that there has been a 30% jump in the number of residential sales in the country compared to the festive season last year, a clear indication that the residential market is looking up. Mumbai has started to lead the recovery process. In terms of sentiment too, there has been a marked change in the Mumbai market and if it is able to sustain the recovery process for the next five to six months, it will set a benchmark for other real estate markets in the country.
“Post the festive season, the sentiment has been positive and buyers are willing to close deals. If the trend in Mumbai continues for the next six to 12 months, Delhi-NCR may start reacting positively and see a turnaround in the next five to six months but much of the offtake will be in the affordable housing segment,” says Mudassir Zaidi, national director, residential agency, Knight Frank India.
Agrees Getamber Anand, president, confederation of real estate developers associations of India (Credai). “There is definitely a change in the mood. Housing sales have improved by 15% during the festive season helped by fall in price and lower interest rate on home loans. The launches in Mumbai are primarily new launches. The supply in Delhi-NCR is much more and hence there may be too few new launches. But there is still pent up demand for products in the affordable range. ”
