Where your home is the dearest in Mumbai

Mumbai boasts of some of the most expensive addresses in the world. Recent developments indicate that this trend is likely to continue, with the proposed world’s tallest residential tower, Lodha World Place at Lower Parel, leading the pack of ultra-expensive super-luxury apartments. The base price of an apartment in Lodha World Place is expected to be Rs8 crore, while ‘villas in the sky’ are expected to cost over Rs40 crore.

A survey conducted by Wealth Bulletin, published in August 2009 listed Altamount Road as the tenth most expensive street in the world, with prices as high as Rs95,000 per sq ft. Altamount Road is but one example. “Places like Altamount Road and Carmichael Road are exclusive localities in terms of the kinds of people who are choosing to call them their homes,” says Anand Narayanan, national director of real estate agents, Knight Frank, India. Besides Bollywood stars, industrialists like Kumar Birla and Ratan Tata, these places are also home to various consulates.

South Mumbai still scores
“There are three things that define the price of a location: it’s proximity to one’s workplace, its demographics, and its geographical location, in that order,” says Pankaj Kapoor, managing director of realty research firm Liases Foras. On these parameters, South Mumbai still scores over upcoming places like Bandra, Juhu and Powai, as it is still the economic hub of the city.

Not surprisingly, the most expensive residential addresses are all in South Mumbai — Altamount Road, Carmichael Road, Malabar Hill, Napean Sea Road, Peddar Road and Walkeshwar.

Television actress Gautami Kapoor has been living at Nepean Sea Road for the last eight years. She loves her 3-BHK apartment in a 70-year-old building because it is “spacious, well-connected, safe and peaceful.” Its proximity to Kemps Corner, Warden Road, Breach Candy and Marine Drive ensures that the family is never short of options when it comes to evening outings.

“This place is ideal for kids. We have Priyadarshini Park next door and the new park and Amarsons at Breach Candy. They can go on boat rides, and there is the little beach at Chowpatty,” says the mother of two. Of course, this is still Mumbai, and so there are traffic jams and water-logging during the rains, and commuting to work can take up to two hours. “But there is no other place we would rather shift to,” she says firmly.

In the commercial realm, the increase in the quantum of available space and redevelopment activity has seen the emergence of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) as the most expensive property. BKC has captured the market that was earlier limited only to Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point, says Vimal Shah, MD, Ackruti City.
 

Why Sewri is hot
Many locations have been evolving at a rapid pace. In Powai, for instance, the residential township of Hiranandani Gardens led the way with its green, well planned areas and prime location opposite the Powai Lake. A mini version of this township has come up at Thakur Village in Kandivli, which boasts of restaurants, a college, schools, cinema houses, clubs, and gyms all in one place. Other places include Malad (west), with its malls and call centre culture, and Palm Beach Road near Vashi.

Shah believes that in the coming years, the reign of ‘developed areas’ like Cuffe Parade and Nariman Point could come to an end, with ‘developing areas’ like Andheri taking over. “Andheri has many things in its favour — it is close to the airport, has good station connectivity, is well connected to the other suburbs, and travelling time is much less,” he says.

“If you are looking for sharper and better returns on your investments, then Sewri is the place,” says Narayanan. The MMRDA plan for the next five years has allocated some 65 per cent of infrastructure expenses to the city’s eastern corridor. Sewri is now a veritable hive of development activity, with a number of developers including the Lodha Group and the Bhattad Group undertaking projects there. If you take into account the proposed expressway that is expected to improve its road connectivity, and its seaside location, it makes for a hot investment option.

Other prime locations, according to Pankaj Kapoor, are Chandivli, which is seeing a lot of commercial and residential development, and Santa Cruz (west) with its proximity to BKC, Andheri, the domestic airport, not to forget all the educational institutions that are located here. “While nothing can compete with South Mumbai, emerging locations like Powai, LBS Marg from Mulund to Vikhroli, and the Thane-Airoli belt will see a lot of change in the coming years,” says Kapoor.