Affordable Housing is what Everyone Wants

Today, for many people in Mumbai, owning a house is a distant dream. The rates of real estate are quite unaffordable to the middle class man. Many people look at properties that are away from the main cities to far off suburbs such as Vasai, Virar etc. But a number of people find even these places quite unaffordable. In addition, many complain that the crowd and the amenities are just not worth it.

While the dream of owning a home for the middle class person seems a far fetched dream, things sure are changing. A number of real estate builders have decided to tap into this middle class need for affordable housing. A couple of real estate projects have commenced to cater to this need of the middle class people. Real estate developers such as Siddarth Group, Raheja are also considering the option of developing residential projects on the outskirts such as Karjat, Naigon, Virar etc.

A number of market surveys have shown that there is a demand for such real estate with the middle and lower income groups, and as such constructing affordable housing is a good proposition.

City’s First Iconic Building at BKC

Early 2010, will see BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) having the city’s first ever iconic cantilever building. This building will serve the as the office of the MMRDA (). The cost of the project is estimated to be Rs. 49 crore and has been accepted by the Union Government.

In addition to breaking the monotony of regular looking office buildings, it also adds character to the city. This project is set to come up on a one lakh square foot plot in BKC and will include nine floors and a podium. This project involves construction of a main building as well as another building to house the MMRDA staff.

While most of the central places in Mumbai seem to be out of reach of the Middle classes, a place that has become increasingly popular for real estate is New Panvel. There are plenty of up coming residential projects by builders such as Neel Group, Harware, Marvel Realtors etc.

What’s HOT in New Panvel?

• The place is well connected by both train as well as road. You’ll get a train in the morning that is a direct one from Panvel to Andheri. And if you want to travel to South Mumbai by road from, Panvel, it’ll take you an hour and a half, a lot depends on traffic as well.

• There is plenty of development happening in New Panvel – schools, banks, restaurants, shops etc.

• Given the concrete jungle that we’re living in, New Panvel still has plenty of greenery. There are parks in every sector and the layout is pretty well planned.

• Malls – the new attractions in Mumbai, are also finding their place in New Panvel. There are a couple of malls that are under construction. One of them is located at Khanda Colony.

• New Panvel is just a few kilometers from the proposed new Airport at Kharghar

• Also coming up in the neighborhood is a Reliance SEZ

Such developments and more are making New Panvel immensely popular and property rates are on the rise.

A few things that are not too hot in New Panvel

• New Panvel, like parts of the Thane are also affected by power cuts. It has 4 hours of power cuts, daily.

• A number of residents complain, that they have limited water supply

• There is just one theater in New Panvel, and no multiplexes, which are the major source of entertainment for people in Mumbai today!

Much like Singapore, who are facing a construction cost crisis, and Dubai, which has access to what amounts to a slave labor force, India is facing the problem of increasing construction material costs along with falling real estate prices meaning corners must be cut somewhere. Singapore has just relaxed their labor laws in an attemopt to follow Dubai’s lead, but labor is already cheap in India, so pre-fabrication is the direction chosen by many developers. Akruti City plans to use pre-fabricated slabs in future buildings, saving 15-20% over manually-laid slabs. They are also exploring new techniques to build walls and pillars that could save up to 20%.

Akruti is not alone in trying to cut costs as the real estate slump caused by higher interest rates and capital curbs by the government begin to bite. All across India, property companies are sourcing cheaper materials, using more advanced technology and new techniques to reduce construction time even as overheads are being slashed. Crucial costs, steel, cement and labor, account for 40 per cent of a project’s costs have increased 50% over the last 12 months,

“Many developers used to spend money lavishly. Now, it is time to rethink expenses,” said Akshaya Kumar, managing director, Park Lane Property Advisors. More on Falling Property Prices and Increased Construction Costs in India

One of the top real estate firms in Chennai, Appaswamy Real Estates Ltd. is a subsidiary of The Appaswamy Group of Companies. A leader in the real estate business in Chennai, the firm has existed in the city since 1958. From the first few projects that Appaswamy Real Estates Ltd constructed, till date, their work has spoken of the standard that the firm has kept up with. A few outstanding characteristics of the company are its commitment to completion of projects on time, prices with an affordable range and absolutely no complaints from their clients.

So far the company has a host of projects completed, upcoming and in completion. Their ongoing residential projects include West Hills on Reddykuppam Road (residential flats), East Crest on LB Road (duplex apartments), Orchard on Arcot Road, Triumph on the Inner Ring Road (residential flats) and Viswas Nest on Kalidass Road in Coimbatore (residential apartments).

Appaswamy Real Estates Ltd. has two major upcoming projects in Chennai in Rajajinagar and Kalaimagal Nagar. They have two upcoming projects in Coimbatore – both residential apartments – on Sathyamoorthy Road and on Varadaraja Thevar Thoppu. In addition to these, they will soon start work on a commercial office facility on Balasundaram Road in Coimbatore.

The recently completed projects of the firm in Chennai are Anjali on Lakeview Road, AJ Towers on Giri Road, The Midtown on TTK Road, Victoria Garden on Inner Ring Road, Hallmark Towers on TTK Road, Lloyds Road on Lloyds First Lane, Kottur Villa on Lock Street, Kotturpuram, Blue Mont on EV Periyar Salai, Sunciti on Santhome High Road, Yellow Square at Coimbatore, Waterford on East Coast Road, Vatsalyam on Reddykuppam Road, Arcot Terrace on NCK Salai Prime Terrace on Dr. Muthulakshmi Salai and Templeton on Flats on Arcot Road

Among the star projects of the company are the 3 star hotels both named ‘The Residency’ in Coimbatore and Chennai. These hotels were built to satisfy the need of budget hotels in the city. Another hotel was built by the group later, called ‘The Residency Towers’ in Chennai.

Also on the list of properties coming soon is an IT park called ‘The Futura’ in Chennai.