Buying a House in South Mumbai, Lower Parel

Are thinking of buying a home in South Mumbai? Since the past five years, the South Mumbai areas of Lower Parel, Mahalaxmi, Worli, Prabhadevi and Jacob Circle have emerged as realty residential hot beds. Some major developers like DB Realty, DLF, Akruti Nirman, HDIL, Bombay Dyeing Real etc are coming up with projects in these areas. According to a review done by Religare Institutional Research, the Lower Parel-Mahalaxmi- Jacob Circle belt is likely to see more than 1Omsf of real estate launches in the next 3-4 years, actually making it an oversupply zone. This is said to lead to correction of prices in these areas over the next couple of years.

The inventory levels in South Mumbai are higher than that of the whole of Mumbai. With new launches ahead, we may also see a correction in prices over the next 2-3 years, particularly for new projects. NTC mill land auctions in South and Central Mumbai will further increase supply in these areas.
Recently, a realty giant has taken over the Poddar-Bharat Mills land, located near Worli Naka. This land auction attracted the highest ever bids from developers reinforcing the fact that South Mumbai is indeed a prime location. A lot of developers are also constructing high end residential projects in places like Jacob Circle, Prabhadevi and Mahalaxmi.

Keeping with this trend, Lokhandwala Builders are all set to launch a new project next month in Mahalaxmi. Ali Lokhandwala, director, Lokhandwala Builders says, "There is good supply of housing in these areas. The demand has also been quite exceptional from buj South as well as North Mumbai. Think about it, there is no other land South Mumbai for development. A person sells off a small flat in Colaba, Walkei Cuffe Parade and buys a spacious home in these places. Rates in upcoming properties in Circle, Prabhadevi, Mahalaxmi, are around 20- 25,000 per sq ft while it's a minimum 60,000 in Napeansea Road, which is three-four kms away. Also, all the whether it's mails, nightclubs, restaurant emas is in Lower Parel. It's the new South Mumbai."

Worli is supposed to be the best place for residential buyers. The director of Raheja Corp, says that the market is waiting for correction. He says, “ A developer who does not develop a project on time cannot demand a high price for it. There is a huge demand in these areas but a major chunk is from speculators. Once the prices are corrected, we will be able to know the real demand scenario.”
It is estimated that about 5000 flats will be available for sale in South Mumbai in the next two years. With every flat costing at least a couple of crore, one has to wait and see the number of takers.