Mumbai real estate developers, Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd, is predicting a drop in real estate values all over the country of 25% this year

But their predictions don’t hit Mumbai really hard as they say that their prediction of the drop will exclude Mumbai which will experience considerably less of a hit - a 10 per cent drop instead. Prices they say, in Mumbai will fall by 10 to 15 per cent. This expected fall in Mumbai’s real estate rates will be lower than the rest of the country’s rates because of the constraints in supply.

The company however does not fear a period of low business for them as most of their projects are located in the metropolitan area of Mumbai. The fast growing real estate giant has major plans of expansion even to other centers in the country. One of its high profile projects in Mumbai among the almost entire 12 million square feet of area that is soon to start is the Mumbai Airport Slum Rehabilitation Project which will account for 2.5 million of the targeted area of 12 million square feet that the firm plans to develop in the city.

The project which is on its way to being ready and is expected to be completed in less than two years time. After completion, the project will provide houses for over 20,000 families of the 80,000 that were displaced by the project with more to come in the next phases of construction. Another project that the firm plans in the city is the proposed multi product SEZ in Virar for which acquirement of 200 acres of land is over. They also plan to develop as similar facility in Vasai too.

The firm plans for more development by its hands for the city’s real estate. What one will soon see in Mumbai is an IT and Development Center coming up at Turbhe MIDC in New Bombay which will be spread over 1.8 million square feet and retail space in Mulund which will be over a sprawling area of one and a half million square feet.

Like any of the other the rates of property in Mumbai are going up with absolutely no limit whatsoever. The rising trend of property price rise in Mumbai is unfortunately going bonkers – not because there is a need to price it that high or that life has just got a lot more costly to justify it. It seems that the price rise is like a game that property sellers are playing. In one of the best locations of the city, a price of Rs. 8000 per square feet is what the optimum rate of and is for this season, day and age – and this is inclusive of other basic facilities. Even if you go higher up for a property on the roof the most that you may go with reason in your price hike is Rs. 1000 more per square feet.

But the hike these days is much beyond this rate or any other probable rate that the seller or agent can explain and there are no reasons available. Now it’s come down to the fight of the seller and the buyer as to which one among the two have the actual ability to change things. The seller can go on increasing his price if the buyer is willing or not to pay or the buyer thinking that he has no choice but to pay the quoted price if he wants the property.

Now the question arises as to, - what is the price that must be quoted? The price that must be quoted is the fair market price. Moreover from the business point of view of the seller and the agent, more than the fair market price is the ‘buyability’ factor – whether the buyer can pay or not. In this context, the price that the buyer can pay is the price that is fair. But since all buyers will not able to pay high prices as not every land buyer is not as high an earner as the last and the sellers can’t be sympathetic to the buyers financial needs, the only fair way to go is to stick to the fair market price per square feet – which is the rule now, which just has to be followed.

Mumbai’s real estate bosses were forced to take some drastic measures to keep up interest in real estate in the city after there was a slump in the beginning of July. The total real estate intake of the city was been left at just thirty percent of what it was. Ofcourse prices have been affected by this slump with them going done anywhere between 10 to 15 per cent in most places. Industry insiders say that this is also the case in Delhi.

Signs of the slump were seen when there was the usual, if not more amount of curiosity, in some exhibition showcasing mainly residential properties all over city in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Central Mumbai. But the curiosity of prospective buyers didn’t turn into bookings, the developers whose properties were showcased reported. But there is no reason to worry it seems. The recent drop in interest for real estate can be compensated for by the demand for demand for office spaces in the city.

Any normal reaction to such a slowdown is the immediate slashing of prices, but developers have decided to give the customer more alternatives instead, this time. All the developers who are at the receiving end of such trends have decided to add more value per purchase of property like free parking of vehicles in the premises and taking upon themselves the stamp duty and registration cost.

This has been possible only because the developers taking these steps were the big timers. If this was the case with the small timers then these steps would have not been able to be taken. The state government plans to introduce a slew of changes to positively impact the slump in the market including allotting more land for redevelopment. This will increase construction in the city’s suburbs which is an advantage for housing societies that are opting for redevelopment as they will be its first beneficiaries when it comes into effect.

Had the big timers not taken these steps to re-invoke the interest of the prospective buyer, a downfall in prices would have been the only option.

Every day that passes sees your building passing through many structural changes. Across Mumbai, there are many buildings that are under severe structural damage. Nearly 500 crores of Rupees is spend each year for restoration of buildings in Mumbai and this figure is likely to go up in the coming years.

The monsoons bring with it additional woes. Leakages are common, collapsing of certain portions of homes and overall damage to buildings.

And so it is necessary to conduct a structural audit of your building. What is a structural audit? In simple terms it is an examination of your building. It’s basically ensuring that your building and its premises are safe and under no risks. It’s extremely helpful as it enables us to analyze the situation of the building and thus we can take any corrective action where necessary.

As per model law number 77, for co-operative housing societies, if the building is 15 to 30 years old, it is mandatory that a structural audit be carried out every five years. For the buildings over 30 years, an audit needs to done every three years. However if one suspects that the condition of the building to be poor, they can go for a structural audit at any time.

During the monsoons the seepage is quite evident and perhaps its the best period to go in for this audit.

What is the procedure for a structural audit? Audits are generally divided into two types. One is the external survey which covers the common areas such as the stair case, compound walls, terrace, water tank etc. The internal survey covers individual apartments, shops etc. And so for these internal surveys, members should be informed about them well in advance, so that they are aware of it and can plan accordingly.

Once the survey is done, recommendations are given and acting on these recommendations is more important.

It’s extremely important that people take the initiative to make sure that these structural audits are done in a timely manner. Co-operative societies need to ensure that these audits are done. How much do these audits cost? A structural audit could cost anywhere from Rs. 250 to Rs. 1000 per flat, however certain other factors are also considered such as the age of the building.

Many societies find it expensive carrying out these structural audits, as they are always short of funds. However given the current climatic conditions such as pollution etc, it’s crucial that these audits be done.