Why Kalyan-Dombivli will drive Mumbai's realty market now

Anjali Agarwalmoneycontrol.com

Buoyed by the positive sentiment led by the new government, the Indian real estate market is at the cusp of a recovery. According to a report by the real estate portal commonfloor.com, the twin city of Kalyan-Dombivli, on the outskirts of Mumbai, will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this boom.

The Kalyan-Dombivli stretch comes under Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) and forms a part of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This respective location is witnessing the development of new residential projects at a fast pace. Developers that operate in this area include Lodha Group, Nirmal Lifestyle, Raunak Group, Laxmi Housing Builders & DevelopersLaxmi, Versat ile Housing and Mehta Group, among others.

Kalyan-Dombivli's real estate has recently witnessed a boom, primarily due to the increasing prices in Mumbai suburbs and growing demand for affordable housing in Mumbai. A proposal for extending the Navi Mumbai metro rail to Kalyan too has fueled the growth for housing in Kalyan-Dombivli, highlighted the report. Also Read: Mumbai realty prices see modest appreciation in Jan-March

The twin city has large industrial belt to its south-east from Kalyan to Badlapur. There are several small and large industries concentrated in this region.

The availability of local trains from Dombivli has made it a prominent suburb of MMR. The region has seen a rise in population in recent years which reflects its increasing demand in the last few years.

The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has developed a big industrial complex around Dombivli. Kalyan junction is currently one of the major railway stations on the central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It is also the third busiest station in the suburban railway network, after Thane and Andheri.

Factors driving growth:

1) The primary factor driving the real estate growth in the Kalyan-Dombivli is the sky-rocketing prices in Mumbai suburbs, coupled with the growing demand for affordable housing.

Mumbai continues to attract migrants who come to the financial capital with hopes of employment opportunities. This has increased the demand for affordable housing. Yet, the present capital values have led a huge gap in demand and supply, though there is unsold inventory of up to four years.

Property values in the Kalyan and Dombivli area offers projects within the affordable range. For example, the average property value in Dombivli East is about Rs 5,440 per sq. ft while it is about Rs 6,040 per sq. ft in Dombivli West. The average property value in Kalyan East is about Rs 5,230 per sq. ft while the average property value in Kalyan West is about Rs 5,920 per sq. ft, the report added.

2)   Another factor driving demand is the availability of industrial belts and improving infrastructure around this area. Both Kalyan and Dombivli have an industrial belt up to Badlapur. This provides very good employment opportunities for people residing around the region.

3) The City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) has planned to extend its Belapur-Taloja metro rail service up to Kalyan and Ulhas Nagar. This is expected to give a big boost to the economy as well as real estate around Kalyan. MMRDA has also planned to lay down a road networks including a 29 km Kalyan ring road in Kalyan region.

4) Kalyan and Dombivli have very good connectivity to parts of Mumbai and other cities via the Kalyan-Shilphata Road, Agra Road and National Highway 4. This also increases the growth prospects of the region. The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport is at a distance of less than 35 kms.

According to CommonFloor co-founder and CEO Sumit Jain, Kalyan-Dombivli realty market witnessed stagnation in property prices over the past few quarters which could be primarily attributed to the overall slowdown in the real estate market in the country.

However, affordable property prices, good connectivity to other key areas in the MMR and the various market trends go on to indicate that the region has good growth potential in the near future.

“With sentiment improving all around in the realty sector, the area is set to witness high demand for affordable housing. With various infrastructure projects in the pipeline, the realty market here is showing positive trends and it is expected that one can easily witness a price appreciation of about 20-25 per cent over the next few quarters," he added.  

Challenges

One of the biggest challenges in Kalyan-Dombivli is lack of sufficient civic and social infrastructure.  Since the area is still developing, it needs well-developed malls, hospitals, schools etc. However, the situation is better than many other areas in the vicinity.

According to Jain, despite having good connectivity to other areas, the time taken to travel to Mumbai CBDs is significantly high since the major mode of transportation is the Mumbai local train. Hence, this is one of the major reasons why the area mostly houses people who work in close vicinity like Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Kalyan-Dombivli region's residential real estate is driven by end-users as well as investors as the region has a good mixture of under-construction and ready-to-occupy projects. Apart from this, the few other areas to buy affordable property in Mumbai include Mira Bhayander, Mira Road, Dahisar, Ghodbunder Road, Vasai-Virar, Ulhasnagar, Kamothe, Ulwe and New Panvel. The prices in these localities range anywhere between Rs 4,500 - Rs 7,000 per sq. ft, Jain told moneycontol.com.

The government’s initiatives towards the sector have brought several regulations and with funding for the implementation of several projects also coming its way, the market is already gaining momentum. By the early quarters of 2015, CommonFloor expects the overall market to bounce back.