Concepts that define today's realty markets
Property redevelopment, second homes and the 2BHK apartment format have all evolved and are prominently visible on the real estate horizon
The process of property redevelopment keeping existing structure in place has been a much exploited technique since over a decade back. Many areas of western suburbs of Mumbai, like Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, etc., had a huge number of such redevelopment projects.
It was quicker and easier as relocation of old building residents wasn't an issue. It was also cost effective as the existing structure was retained with due repairs and renovations taken care of.
However, one of the biggest disadvantages was mixing of the residents. Essentially, the new buyers would pay a huge premium and hence belong to higher strata of society compared to the old occupants. This class barrier reflected as a huge discount on the asking price as not many of the high-end society buyers were willing to share the space with the lower classes.
All this was handled by creating separate buildings for existing occupants and for free market sale, with enough class barriers in place. This however, necessarily meant razing of existing structures to create denser and better planned habitable areas. So, the old occupants are either paid off completely or relocated to a part of the same property or elsewhere.
The locations with dense populations and old dilapidated buildings are many in the city of Mumbai. The island city has the whole stretch from Fort, Flora Fountain to Dadar with scores of such buildings in need of redevelopment. Central suburbs have Kurla to Ghatkopar offering such projects and western suburbs have Bandra to Juhu as a stretch proliferated with such buildings.
Second homes
Till as recently as a decade back, second homes as a concept existed only in the ultra-rich segment of urban society. For Delhi residents it was a farmhouse on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road whereas Mumbaikars found refuge in Alibaug, Lonavala, etc. Proximity to the primary home played a key role so as to escape to these places over weekends. So, in essence, second home markets are very localised with distance between primary and secondary homes not exceeding two hours or 100 kilometres.
However, with private jets and yachts catching the fancy of the elites, those adventurous ones have already broken the distance barrier with many of them securing places in exotic locales of Goa, Maldives, Mauritius, etc.
The wealth creation in last decade has percolated down in the strata of society and a new breed of upper middle class has emerged with ambitions to match the high society. Exposure to global cities and aspiration for lifestyle products has created a formidable nouveau riche class keen to buy second homes at affordable prices. Practically every urban metro is surrounded by hill-stations, water fronts or private forest areas where the developers are creating exciting schemes to lure in this class of buyers. Mumbai for example has Khandala, Karjat, Kasara, Igatpuri, Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar, etc. emerging beyond Lonavala and Alibaug as second home markets.
The most essential thing to watch out for in case of second homes is safety and maintenance. If the property shall remain unused for better part of it then safety and security plays the most important role.
Further, if it is used intermittently, then keeping it useful every time one needs to use it is a difficult task. Ideally, service apartments where developers give a lease back option takes care of these aspects. A good gated community can handle the safety and security aspects.
The 2BHK flat concept
About a quarter of a century back, the most favoured configuration with buyers in Mumbai used to be 1BHK with over 50% contribution compared to 2BHK and the rest sharing 25% each. The last two decades have seen few radical changes in real estate environment that has changed this factor.
The decreasing average age of home buyers, easy availability of mortgages, improving lifestyles, awareness about global housing standards, etc., have played key roles in changing the configuration.
Today on an average, over 50% of apartments constructed and sold are in 2 BHK category vis-à-vis 25% of 1BHK and 25% of the rest.
Developers have done their bit in creating interesting concepts like two and a half BHK apartments to cater to the needs of upwardly mobile households who at present can't afford to buy a 3BHK. Such ingenuities have helped the market to expand further with more buyers leaning towards these options.
Property redevelopment, second homes and the 2BHK apartment format have all evolved and are prominently visible on the real estate horizon
The process of property redevelopment keeping existing structure in place has been a much exploited technique since over a decade back. Many areas of western suburbs of Mumbai, like Bandra, Khar, Santacruz, etc., had a huge number of such redevelopment projects.
It was quicker and easier as relocation of old building residents wasn't an issue. It was also cost effective as the existing structure was retained with due repairs and renovations taken care of.
However, one of the biggest disadvantages was mixing of the residents. Essentially, the new buyers would pay a huge premium and hence belong to higher strata of society compared to the old occupants. This class barrier reflected as a huge discount on the asking price as not many of the high-end society buyers were willing to share the space with the lower classes.
All this was handled by creating separate buildings for existing occupants and for free market sale, with enough class barriers in place. This however, necessarily meant razing of existing structures to create denser and better planned habitable areas. So, the old occupants are either paid off completely or relocated to a part of the same property or elsewhere.
The locations with dense populations and old dilapidated buildings are many in the city of Mumbai. The island city has the whole stretch from Fort, Flora Fountain to Dadar with scores of such buildings in need of redevelopment. Central suburbs have Kurla to Ghatkopar offering such projects and western suburbs have Bandra to Juhu as a stretch proliferated with such buildings.
Second homes
Till as recently as a decade back, second homes as a concept existed only in the ultra-rich segment of urban society. For Delhi residents it was a farmhouse on Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road whereas Mumbaikars found refuge in Alibaug, Lonavala, etc. Proximity to the primary home played a key role so as to escape to these places over weekends. So, in essence, second home markets are very localised with distance between primary and secondary homes not exceeding two hours or 100 kilometres.
However, with private jets and yachts catching the fancy of the elites, those adventurous ones have already broken the distance barrier with many of them securing places in exotic locales of Goa, Maldives, Mauritius, etc.
The wealth creation in last decade has percolated down in the strata of society and a new breed of upper middle class has emerged with ambitions to match the high society. Exposure to global cities and aspiration for lifestyle products has created a formidable nouveau riche class keen to buy second homes at affordable prices. Practically every urban metro is surrounded by hill-stations, water fronts or private forest areas where the developers are creating exciting schemes to lure in this class of buyers. Mumbai for example has Khandala, Karjat, Kasara, Igatpuri, Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar, etc. emerging beyond Lonavala and Alibaug as second home markets.
The most essential thing to watch out for in case of second homes is safety and maintenance. If the property shall remain unused for better part of it then safety and security plays the most important role.
Further, if it is used intermittently, then keeping it useful every time one needs to use it is a difficult task. Ideally, service apartments where developers give a lease back option takes care of these aspects. A good gated community can handle the safety and security aspects.
The 2BHK flat concept
About a quarter of a century back, the most favoured configuration with buyers in Mumbai used to be 1BHK with over 50% contribution compared to 2BHK and the rest sharing 25% each. The last two decades have seen few radical changes in real estate environment that has changed this factor.
The decreasing average age of home buyers, easy availability of mortgages, improving lifestyles, awareness about global housing standards, etc., have played key roles in changing the configuration.
Today on an average, over 50% of apartments constructed and sold are in 2 BHK category vis-à-vis 25% of 1BHK and 25% of the rest.
Developers have done their bit in creating interesting concepts like two and a half BHK apartments to cater to the needs of upwardly mobile households who at present can't afford to buy a 3BHK. Such ingenuities have helped the market to expand further with more buyers leaning towards these options.
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