A study of Ghodbunder residential property boom

By the hillside, Ghodbunder road was once a forest land. A few years ago, the view was breathtaking as the rainwater stream passes through the hills, charming many nature lovers. A closer view of the hill, less traffic movement, and tranquility drew many residents to Ghodbunder road area.

From a farmland to a residential area, over the years, the locality has bloomed into a beautiful colony with tastefully built houses, residential towers, swanky malls and multiplexes, air conditioned schools and colleges and, of course, ample stretches of greenery.

Except a row of buildings that line the 80-ft. road, most lanes in the colony have a sloping terrain.

12 years back the cost of a 500 sq ft residential flat was just Rs.5 lakh here. Today, the price of a one BHK is above Rs.45 lakh.

“We never thought that the land value would shoot up so much over the years. The place gained popularity when former municipal commissioner T Chandrashekhar developed the infrastructure along the road. He was instrumental in getting the layout approved. A few years ago; the view was breathtaking as the rainwater stream passes through the hills, charming many nature lovers.

“It was like a dream come true for us to stay close to nature and enjoy the scenic beauty of hills along with the watercourse. However, due to the land reclamation by the builders, the stream has eventually disappeared,” says Rajaram Patil, who has been residing in Brahmand colony for the last 16 years.

The TMC is taking care of the colony’s maintenance and people have no complaints as far as water supply and streetlights are concerned. “For a person like me, the locality is most preferred as I don’t have to commute much to procure any kind of stuff outside. But for those who have to move around frequently, the scenario is different, as they have to navigate through the steep lanes says G. Padma, one of the residents.

Ghodbunder road residential area which now falls in Thane municipal limits is attracting hordes of people from in and around Mumbai since decades due to its calm and serene locales. People love to buy residential spaces here as the locality is self-contained and lacks nothing.

With the massive landslide win of BJP -led NDA headed by Modi in 2014 Lok Sabha Election, there is a sense of positivity in the buyer community. Other than the financial issues, Lok Sabha election result was the main reason behind delaying property investment by the buyers.  For the first time saffron party has crossed the 300-seat mark without any support.

It is believed that the real estate industry and buyers are equally positive about changes such as policy changes and relaxation in monetary reforms. During the election campaigning, BJP had assured to set up 100 smart cities throughout the country. Thus, buyers are expecting from the new government to revive existing real estate policies and the coming next six months are going to be the perfect time for investing in real estate.

With the huge rally in equity market, the Sensex gained over 1,300 points above 25,000. The Nifty was also up by over 400 points and is trading above 7,500. With the wave of positive change the top gainers in Stocks are DLF, Oberoi Realty, Prestige Estates, Godrej Properties and Sobha Developers. Each one of them jumped 3-9 percent on hopes of getting more projects through the new government.

Creation of a new government is exactly what the Indian economy and the real estate sector wants at this time. While investors look optimistic, end users seem to be waiting that home loan interest rates will come down easing their pockets. However, it will take some time for us to witness any improvement at three months from the formation of government.