MMR realty set for strong comeback in FY’23

By Sanjeev Arora, Director-Operations, 360 Realtors

As a wave of optimism begins to take hold in the wake of the receding effects of the pandemic, realty markets are beginning to realign positively across India. This surge in momentum is borne out by the strong performance demonstrated across seven of the top cities where property markets are expected to achieve their peak by 2023 with housing sales estimated to cross 3 Lakh units annually.

The primary catalysts that are contributing to this growth are an unprecedented boost in homeownership sentiment, lowered home loan rate regime, the rapid pace of adoption of technology and digital marketing, and innovative business practices, which have played a major role in cushioning the Indian residential sector against the overall impact of Covid-19.

Amid this surge, one of the strong contenders demonstrating a consistent upward trajectory is MMR or Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region is expected to lead overall housing sales & new launches in FY 2023, with the region likely to occupy a 28 percent share of total sales and nearly 30 percent of new launches.

The month of May also saw the market posting good sales numbers, with the residential segment occupying 85% of the transactions, which further underlines the rising optimism among homebuyers.

Although prices in the region are on the rise fuelled by rising input costs & rate hike expectations, factors such as a rise in household savings & mid to long-term financial stability are expected to sustain the growth momentum for MMR. Average prices per square foot in MMR currently hovers around Rs 19,557/sq. ft. which is the highest in the country. Yet the positive momentum will continue to unfold in the MMR market in the foreseeable future.

Although a jump in cement & steel prices, which have increased by 28% and 40%, respectively, is emerging as a concern, active government intervention to control prices is acting as a major relief & will lead to greater profit margins for developers in all leading markets across India, including Mumbai.

In main Mumbai, locations such as Lower Parel, Worli, Bandra, Juhu, Andheri, Kanjurmarg, Vikroli, Mulund, etc. are some of the major micro-markets in Mumbai.

Thane and Navi Mumbai are also transforming into self-sustainable ecosystems. Plenty of greeneries & natural beauties, affordable real estate prices, and a bustling job market that is fuelling real estate demand.

The plethora of new Infrastructure Development

The MMR is at the cusp of major infrastructure development which is further giving an upturn to real estate demand. The 21.8 Km long sea link is set to be completed by 2023, which will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai through 6 lanes access-controlled sea bridge.

Work on the USD 2.1 billion Navi Mumbai international airport is going in full swing and is expected to be completed by 2024. Once completed, the airport will annually manage ~ 10 million passengers. The ongoing airport project is expected to generate a large scale of employment to the tune of around ~ 300,000, thereby driving housing demand in Navi Mumbai region.

90% of the land acquisition has been concluded for the High-speed bullet train project between Mumbai, Thane, and Ahmedabad. Once completed, the project will cover the 508 Kms between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in less than 3 hours.

MMR is aggressively upending its urban mass transit networks to offer a cheap, fast, and hassle-free commute service to its residents. Presently, around ~ 30 km of lines are operational. Around ~ 150 km is under construction and close to 158 Kms has either been approved or has been proposed.

Work will soon begin on the Borivali-Thane tunnel that will seamlessly connect Thane with main Mumbai, cutting down the total time of travel to 15 minutes from 2 hours.