BOMBAY, 26 January 2004 — The property scenario seems to be undergoing a complete sea change. A few years back, buying a home in central Bombay, like Dadar or Matunga seemed impossible. Now, all that seems to be changing.
Iyer, an acquaintance, had lived in Matunga for the most part of his life. As his family increased, he needed a bigger house and there was no way that he could afford to buy another house in Matunga. So he did what the majority of the people did there. He sold the house and moved to the far flung suburbs of Bombay, Mulund and Dombivli. There he could afford to buy two independent flats with the sale proceeds of the one flat sold in Matunga. This way, Iyer and his family lived happily ever after.
Well, now a new twist has entered into the story. Iyer is actually thinking of moving back to Matunga, into a bigger flat. And this is not the mindset of just Iyer, it seems to be happening all around.
This phenomenon , of people contemplating moving back into Bombay from the suburbs is one of the biggest changes that is happening in the metropolis. And this is happening due to various reasons.
First and foremost being that many old buildings are now being razed to the ground and new, swanky high rises are being built. Apart from the accommodation for the old tenants, there are new flats too in the new high rises. Just a leisurely walk in and around the areas of Dadar and Matunga will be enough to show the vast number of old buildings being replaced by new high rises.
Due to this, old buildings giving way to high rises, prices of property have come down as now the supply has gone up. The suburbs have been all recent developments whereas these have been predominantly old areas where no one in their wildest of dreams had ever thought that this could happen one day.
Areas like Shivaji Park, Dadar, Matunga, Sion, King Circle, Wadala, Sewri, even parts of Chembur are a witness to this phenomena.
Dadar and Matunga which were quoting at around Rs.8,000- 10,000 are presently quoted at Rs. 4,000-6,000. Sion which was at around Rs.5,000-8,000 two years back, is now quoted at Rs.3,500-4,000. Wadala which was at around Rs.5,000-6,000 is now available at Rs.2,300 -3,500. Prabhadevi is at Rs.6,500-9,000; Worli at Rs.6,000-10,000; Mahim at Rs.3,500-5,500.
Apart from the old buildings giving way to high rises and thus creating more supply, another major reason for the fall in the prices has been the easy availability of housing loans. Earlier, there was just HDFC and LIC but now every nook and corner seems to have a housing loan company and each vying to give loans at the cheapest possible rates. Four to five years back, housing loans were available at rates of 14-13 percent but now loans are available at 6-7 percent. And the processing time for disbursals of loans has come down drastically. Within 10 days, if all the required papers are in order, the loan amount is disbursed.
Property analysts say that rates could see some more correction in the coming days as more space is expected to be freed. The sale of mill land in areas of Parel and Lalbaug is expected to churn up the entire property market.
There is now also talk of Dharavi’s land being freed up. The government is contemplating developing the slum areas of Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia. Expected to be redeveloped at a cost of Rs. 5,600 crore, the Dharavi upgradation is to be funded by private developers. Several acres of land could now become vacant if slum-dwellers are relocated to tall buildings.
Currently, there are 70,000 hutments in Dharavi, occupying an area of 174 hectares of prime land. So the next time you visit India, do not be shocked to see the rapid change in the landscape of the city. Maybe you too could shift from the far flung suburban areas to central Bombay?
