Now residents of Chembur and Andheri East can look forward because of revised property tax system of the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). Some other localities in Mumbai such as; Goregaon East, Malad West, Andheri West and Kandivali East are in the other areas, which are getting benefit because of revised property tax system. Availability of large size properties in Mumbai will keep the profits towards lower end. Earlier, BMC was cleared the new property tax system in 2013, all the housing societies in all over the Mumbai, recently received the revised property tax system, which is appears to be paid for the year 2010 to 2013. According to new tax guidelines, now property tax will be calculates on the property’s capital value, rather than the rental value of the property.

The area’s which have low plot value and high rental value will get the benefit because of new tax system. Properties in Chembur and Andheri East hold high rental value and low property value and here the built-up area is less in comparison of other areas of the western localities, so these areas will get the benefit. But it can vary from property to property because tax system consider several other factors such as; the age of construction. According to recent reports and data the capital value of properties in Andheri East region range from Rs 12,000 to 19,000 per sq ft, while the premium areas such as; in western area the value of property range from Rs 20,000 to 40,000 per sq ft, and in Chembur property rates are in the range of Rs 14,000 to 19,000 per sq ft. Whereas the rental value of these localities ranges Rs 35, 000 to 55, 000 per sq ft. Local realtors are not so happy with the new form of property tax as it depends on Area, Age, Price and type of property. These factors play an important role in assessing the cost of land.

Formula for property tax calculation:

Capital value = Built-up area* Base value *Type of building* Age factor* Use category* Floor factor

Chembur and Andheri are one of the well established localities of Mumbai, where one can find the building in different age cycle. Andheri West is a prominent residential location, whereas eastern part has some of the old residential and commercial buildings, which has age more than 30 years. Hence, in these areas there will be mixed impact and property tax will be measurable on case to case basis.

In case of re-developed properties, there will be flip side because of increased base value and change in the built-up area. The other positive feature for these localities is the size of residential and commercial units. According to recent reports, approximately 30 per cent properties in these areas have an average size of 300-500 sq ft, it stands for 1BHk and according to old tax system BMC has decided to levy taxes.

Navi Mumbai is trying to solve the problems of overpopulation in Mumbai. However, the township have a good chance to become one of the largest planned cities in the world and boasting the excellent socio-infrastructure including rail and road connectivity with Mumbai and supply of power and water. In the period of 2009 to 2014, this satellite township has witnessed more than 80% growth in property prices, and in Mumbai real estate sector has witnessed the average growth of 70%.

 Games changing infrastructure in Navi Mumbai: Good to stay and best to invest

•   Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA).
•   Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL).
•   Navi Mumbai Metro.
•   Sion- Panvel Expressway.
•   Nerul-Seawood-Uran Railway Corridor.
•   Mumbai-Pune Expressway.
•   Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR).

Today, Navi Mumbai has become one of the realty magnets for both commercial and residential development with shopping malls, SEZs, modern residential complexes and IT Parks. Once upon a time, Navi Mumbai was neglected area but now the scenario is different and it is attracting the high investment in real estate sector.

Few popular real estate projects in Navi Mumbai:

Currently, the city is witnessing approximately 450 ready-to-move-in projects and 350 under-construction projects. Space India, Arihant Developers, Bhagwati Group, Platinum Constructions, and the Nirman Group are the few names, who are ruling in the real estate market in Navi Mumbai. Here developers are launching quality projects, in different sectors such as; commercial and residential sectors.

Strategic location:

Navi Mumbai is spread over an area of50 square kilometers; it is also the commercial and financial capital of the country. Navi Mumbai SEZ has access to rail linkages and well-developed road as well as JNPT. JNPT is one of the largest and most modern seaports areas. City is also nearby large industrial areas and Pune-Mumbai-Thane knowledge corridor provides the instant access to the skilled manpower.

State-of-the-art infrastructure:

Navi Mumbai offers the state-of-the-art infrastructure and services, residential units in SEZ provide a access to world-class infrastructure and you can chose between flatted factories, built-up office space and land plots. These facilities are ready to use with all basic and necessary infrastructure and services. Other infrastructures include; social amenities, convention centers, recreational facilities and more.

Prices are on way to up:

Demands of property, both residential and commercial are growing high in recent years. Buyers, speculators and investors are making the sound investment in the region on the fast track; Navi Mumbai is emerging as the second most expensive residential location in country due to its strategic location. The SEZ is the project proposed by Reliance industry over an area of 3,200 acres and has played a major role in the rising prices.

From mid-seventies, Mumbai is trying to cater the demand for real estate sector with the eye on future and that’s why Navi Mumbai comes in existence and now this satellite twin of Mumbai is largest planned new city in the world and spread on the area of about 344 kms.

In the previous years due to highly quoted prices, Mumbai real estate industry had to go through slow down in sales and responses. Several projects were left incomplete due to lack of environment clearance, disputed lands, incomplete approval from authorities, and very often builders were lacking financial support. With the win of Modi led BJP as the new central government, real estate industry expects revival with efficiency in approval process and easier and smoother bank funding.

Currently, the main factors affecting the growth of real estate market of Mumbai are:

• Improved policies of government for boosting the real estate sector.

• State government’s take on its policies related to New Development-Controlled Regulations, Redevelopment, Slum Rehabilitation Act (SRA) and Floor Space Index (FSI).

• Impact of infrastructure changes across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for boosting the real estate industry.

• Role played by MMRDA and MHADA in the real estate housing sector.

• Reasonable and affordable housing policies.

• Other various factors important for market dynamics like holding capacity of developers, their strategy for sales, acquisition costs, peer pressure for competition, premium on a brand, amenities involved in the project etc.

What about the factors affecting the property prices? These are land cost, price of raw material, technology, labour and others. The existing stock of homes in the city has been constructed with high prices of land and raw materials. Thus, it would not be fair to expect immediate price corrections.

So what are the actual demands or expectation of Mumbai real estate industry? Let us elaborate it:

• A confident government with firm policies for making reality market strong.

• Quick and single window clearance system.

• Easy availability of raw materials at subsidize cost.

• Tax incentives and simpler taxation system.

If all these problems are resolved successfully, it will be a great help in controlling the skyrocket prices in real estate industry and the dream of Modi’s government of ‘a home for all’ in a city like Mumbai will not be a dream anymore.

So, are we seeing any positive changes since the new government? Well, just even before the elections the Housing Sentiment Index (HSI) reflected the signs of improvement in consumer sentiments in Mumbai. HIS is a sentiment index of the Indian real estate market that captures buyer ‘mood’ and acts as a sign of changes in real estate market performance.The HSI improved by 24 per cent as compared to a rise of 5 per cent in the last quarter. The HSI for Mumbai has moved even above 100 for the very first time in four quarters and today it has reached up to 106.
Though with this year we have seen progress in the overall economy, still lot of work needs to be done to revive the lost confidence in the real estate sector. Start of 2014 was quite positive for Mumbai real estate as it saw almost 20 to 30 percent of increase in the sales but later closer to elections transactions started coming to a standstill.