ON ASCENDING CHART

Jun 25 2016 : The Times of India (Pune)

ON ASCENDING CHART

Kanchan Gogate





Steady confidence of homebuyers vouchsafes Pune as a sought-after realty destination. Inclusion in the Smart City list is sure to propel city's growth further

Braving tough economic times, Pune has shown a remarkable poise as a realty destination. Isn't it surprising that at a time when the property markets across the country are either stagnant or marginally correcting prices, Pune real estate is showing a healthy appreciation quarter on quarter? As a matter of fact, as per the National Housing Bank (NHB) Residex, Pune has been witness to highest appreciation on a pan-India basis.It clearly shows that in Pune there is no stress in the residential market.The analysts maintain that keeping in view the nature of the business anything less than five quarter of inventory (15 months) is a comfortable situation. And hence, there is scope for new launches of the residential properties as well. The new launches have not been as much as expected due to policy uncertainties.
It is not only the price appreciation that is promising in the city but the transaction rates are also better than many other cities. While appreciation has often led to lesser transactions in other cities, in Pune it is in sync and hence indicates a genuine end user driven demand in the city.
In terms of the unsold inventory while the neighbouring Mumbai is sitting over 48 months of unsold inventory, in Pune the unsold inventory in the market stands at a comfortable 13 months.
Pune city has been a job creator in areas of financial services and IT over the last decade that is very similar to Bangalore. Given the influx of earning population on the back of growth in business, this city has grown in valuation. Also, the affordability in the city is in tandem with the home loan finance capability of people with ticket size of flats ranging under Rs one crore in a good location for 2BHK.
Pune has been lucrative to investors too with people buying it for its rental yields as the rental market too has good traction.
Pune's outstanding performance vouchsafes the unwavering confidence that end-users and investors have been exhibiting in Maharashtra's most dynamic economic powerhouse. The trend of Pune's real estate market performing against the larger odds and outdistancing other cities in terms of real estate vibrancy will definitely continue.
With the combined effect of manufacturing, IT, the services sector and hospitality providing impetus to Pune, the city has all the right economic and demand drivers firmly in place. Moreover, its inclusion in the 100 Smart City Programme has served to boost the interest from multinational companies to set up and expand operations here. This will serve to further increase inward migration and fuel greater demand for residential real estate, and provide end users and investors alike an outstanding rationale to place their faith in this market.
Pune is still seeing a healthy demand for property. While neighbouring Mumbai is now being seen a largely unaffordable, real estate investors are now flocking to Pune in order to participate in the real estate boom in this city. Growth on the Pune property market has been even more noticeable over the last two years.
A steady momentum has been the key to healthy growth in real estate demand in Pune. In terms of appreciation too, investment in the city market is far superior as compared to other cities, most notably the neighbouring Mumbai. More importantly, inclusion of Pune into the Smart City list is also going to change the dynamics of real estate market in the city.
Moreover, Pune offers a plethora of options for both buyers and investors, at prices which are more affordable than in other cities. This is what makes Pune such an attractive investment proposition, and why property prices continue to register good growth. The next few years would really be era of growth for Pune real estate market as the investors will flock to the future smart city. At the same time the kind of jobs that are expected to be created in the smart city Pune would be magnet for expat work force which has always been critical for the growth of housing market of the city. Pune real estate developers definitely have the reasons to smile their way to the market.
The analysts tracking the city economy suggest that over the past two decades, Pune has seen rapid growth of the IT culture, and there is immense demand for homes from people working in the city's software parks and IT companies. At the same time, the city's thriving manufacturing industries also feed the demand for homes.