Ghodbunder Road – upcoming destination

From a small suburban town on the outskirts of Mumbai to a self-sustaining metropolis, Thane has progressed leaps and bounds over the last decade. It is a modern city with expansive flyovers, seamless highways and broad roads that contribute to its burgeoning social infrastructure.

With a property price boom that was seen in areas in and around Mumbai between 2010 and 2012, Ghodbunder Road segment in Thane emerged as an ideal residential destination for price-sensitive home buyers owing to the relatively lower rates in comparison to the central Thane city. Today, Ghodbunder Road is witnessing rapid appreciation in terms of real estate.

Ghodbunder Road is approximately 20 km long and links the two main arterial roads of Mumbai, the Eastern Express Highway which starts at Sion and terminates at Thane and the Western Express Highway, that starts at Bandra (East) which becomes the National Highway leading to Gujarat. Many rail and road infrastructural projects on the Ghodbunder Road are in the pipeline giving the area an upper edge.

The MMRDA has given a nod to a monorail network which will serve as a feeder system to the Metro corridor extending from Wadala to Kasarvadavali on Ghodbunder Road. Besides, the road also provides quick accessibility to Mira Road from Thane, and to other micro-markets like Mulund, Bhandup and Ghatkopar.

From affordable apartments to premium properties, the area offers an extensive mixture of housing options. Capital values of newly launched multi-storey apartments vary between Rs 40 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore and the average prices of this region range between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 per sq ft with annual appreciation of nearly 7-10 per cent, based on the project specifications and amenities.

Ghodbunder Road is attractive to developers primarily due to the easy availability of large land parcels. Some of the reputed developers present on this stretch are Runwal Group, Puraniks Builder, Harmony Lifestyles Group, Vijay Group, Rosa Group and DS Group.

Guardian minister_Thane_Ekanath Shinde

This project will need more than Rs. 30, 000 crore and it will be prepared on the model of German technology. After construction and execution, this road will cut the travel time by 80 minutes (from 90 minutes to 10 minutes). It is expected that this tunnel will deviate from Tikujiniwadi to Ghodbunder Road and it will cover more than 15 kms under the ground through Yeoor and Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It will also connect the WEH (Western Express Highway) at Borivli as currently, Thane and Borivali, which is located in North Mumbai are separated by chain of hills (most of the chain of hills are the part of the national park).

Eknath Shinde, who is Guardian minister for Thane and the minister for Public Works Department (PWD), announced that Maharashtra State Government is planning to enhance the connectivity of Thane with rest of the Mumbai. Shinde has announced a special six lane underground road which will connect Thane and Borivali and apart from that he has also received an approval for other flyover projects within the Thane region and for that Maharashtra State Government has granted Rs 517 crores. He also stated that roads are the important part of infrastructure as well as for the progress of city, but it is also essential to focus on the maintenance of road services. The more he added that in future the regions like; Kasarvadavli, Bhayanderpada, Anandnagar, and Mulund Toll Naka will have the mushrooming flyovers, which will help people to travel in less time as well as they will help to decrease the traffic issues.

Now MSRDC (Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation) is ready with preliminary reports and they have appointed consultant to execute the project. Apart from that State Government of Maharashtra, has also approved the widening of Kalyan – Shil road and KDMC road (Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation) also needs the maintenance work.

With the growing demand of real estate, there are many areas around Mumbai which have been coming into the limelight. According to the data and surveys conducted by one of the leading real estate portal, capital and rental values in Ghatkopar West have increased nearly 50% in the past 2 to 3 years. And seems like with the development of the VAG Metro, this percentage might further increase by 15% in the coming few months.

Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro

Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) Metro:

This is Mumbai’s first metro linking areas like Andheri, Western express highway, Azad Nagar and other areas like Airport Road and Sakinaka. So it also a connecting link between the east and west suburban areas of Mumbai.  This has not only enhanced the connectivity experience but also the property market. Due to this metro, the hectic travel time during the peak officer hours has been reduced and people can now reach from Versova to Ghatkopar in mere 20 minutes and they don’t need to change train at Dadar to reach their west suburbs offices anymore.

Why Ghatkopar:

With the decrease in traffic congestion and reduced travel time, the home buyers are looking for property in these areas. Nuclear family and young working couples who find property out of reach in areas like Andheri and Western suburban’s are now looking towards Ghatkopar for purchasing property. Currently there more than 60% people who are belonging to middle class families hence they are looking for localities which can provide them the basic infrastructure like schools, hospitals, banks and shopping centers. There is presence of some of the best known schools like Saraswati Vidya Niketan, colleges like NIIT and amusements areas like M G Road. These localities will have fewer burdens on their pocket. An average property value in area like Andheri is around Rs 18,500-24,000 /sq ft but areas like Ghatkopar offers the same at the rate of Rs 14,800-18,400/Sq Ft. We can see what a difference it makes in terms in property value.

We can see, even though the price of the capital is reduced, the covered area is much more. Even if we consider rents in these areas, they are way too low when compared to areas like Andheri etc. Rents in areas like Andheri is around Rs 52/Sq ft but the rent in Ghatkopar is around Rs 41/Sq ft. So, the rent one might be paying for 1 BHK in an area like Andheri is like paying rent for 2BHK in an area like Ghatkopar. At the end, lower cost of living, availability of necessary infrastructure and now the newly connecting VAG adds to the real estate market in Ghatkopar, which will be a treat for investors and as well residence seekers.

So, if you are looking out a property that is not only easy on the pocket but also good on the investments and return, then Ghatkopar West, Mumbai is your destination because it has potential for both investors and home seekers with best ROI in country.