Why Mumbai's Realty Players Shifted Their Focus to Pune

This Article is a guest post from Pravitha (commonfloor.com)

Mumbai has always been at the top of real estate investor’s list. But, is the city slowly losing its charm due to its neighboring city, Pune? Let’s find out.

Mumbai, also known as the City Of Dreams, has held the title of being the most expensive city in the country, for a long period of time. The real estate market of the city is booming, but now only millionaires and billionaires can afford to live in the city. The property prices are so high that it is impossible for a mid-income individual to afford a good house. On the other hand, Pune still has affordable housing, and ever since Mumbai-Pune Expressway opened to the public, the travel time between the two cities has reduced considerably. In addition to this, there are many other reasons why Pune has attracted investors.

Establishment of IT Parks

Due to the development of several IT parks in Pune, a huge number of techies have migrated to this city. If you are a software engineer in this country, you would probably prefer Pune rather than Mumbai, as the former can give you an affordable lifestyle.

Mumbai’s real estate market has witnessed a dip, while Pune is still experiencing a rising demand for residential houses. Since more people are opting for Pune, investors have started building residential projects in this city.

Steady Growth of Real Estate Market

As Pune has made the heads of many realty players turn, its real estate market has observed a steady growth. According to real estate experts, Pune has witnessed more capital value appreciation than Mumbai. While Mumbai only witnessed an appreciation rate of 16 percent, Pune had the highest capital value appreciation in the country, at a whopping 39 percent. If you are a working professional in Mumbai, consider buying property in Pune to earn high returns.

Let’s compare the average selling price of properties in the prime locations of Mumbai and Pune. According to commonfloor.com, the average selling price of property in Lokhandwala, Mumbai, is Rs.22,590 per square feet, whereas the average selling price of property in Koregaon Park, Pune, is Rs.10,500 per square feet.

Affordable Houses in Pune

The whole country is aware of the rising prices of Mumbai’s apartments. A small apartment, which has an area of 600 square feet, will set you back by Rs 1 crore. Unless you are a high-income earning individual, shelling out such a huge amount is close to impossible. Owing to this reason, a many people have moved to the outskirts of Mumbai such as Thane and Navi Mumbai. However, if you would rather live in the city, you will be able to find a good house in the price range of 30 to 70 lakhs in Pune.

Budget-Friendly Lifestyle

Mumbai is a vast and dynamic metropolitan city. More and more Mumbaikars are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Even though Pune hasn’t emerged as a metro city yet, it has all the basic amenities, offers a plethora of good property choices, and is much easier on the pocket. The city also has a plethora of good shopping malls, restaurants, multiplexes, and educational institutions. It can offer you a cosmopolitan lifestyle, at a much lower cost.

Apart from this, there are several other factors that have played a significant role in attracting investors. Consumer prices, rent prices, restaurant prices, and lower purchasing power in Pune, are much lesser than in Mumbai.

IT parks in Pune will churn out numerous high-paying jobs annually, which is another major crowd-puller. As end-users are starting to prefer Pune to Mumbai, investors have also started to follow suit.