The Hindu Business Line : Demand for quality houses on the rise

A decade ago, Pune was more of a pensioners’ paradise. And it was also always said of Pune that the English speaking urban class preference for stay was in the camp area while the Marathi speaking people preferred the interiors of the city. But this no longer holds water as the city has broken its shackles and is spreading its tentacles far and wide bringing in the outskirts of yesteryears into its fold.

It has also on record that the first 10 months of 2007 the city has seen 1.65 lakh property registrations as compared to 1.6 lakh in 2006. And at no point is price a criterion. It might sound incredible, but the property prices at many a location in Pune have risen 60 to 100 per cent. Even, what was usually touted as the outskirts of Pune such as Hadapsar, Wakad, Kharadi and even Wagholi, have caught up with their peers and have rates ranging from Rs 3,500 to 4,500 per sq ft. And prime locations such as Koregaon Park, Kalyani Nagar have crossed the Rs 7,000 mark.

Value surge

There is a spurt in all three segments – commercial, residential and retail. Over the last 2-3 years, the Pune residential market has seen huge appreciation in terms of its capital values. According to industry experts, the prices would continue to rise, especially in the eastern and western corridors of the city. And the reasons cited are paucity of land, rise in construction costs, rise in developers’ cost of funds and continued flow of migration due to the immense employment opportunities available.

It is not just the increased demand but the quality also has undergone a change. With increasing salaries, there are customers who are willing to shell out that little extra for a few more comforts and amenities. All the customers are looking at a minimum of two BHK and the concept of one BHK (bedroom, hall and kitchen) seems to be dying a slow death in the city. “The buyers fall in the category of DINKs (double income no kids) group, but they still want their own space and are opting for a minimum of 2 BHK” they point out. The developers are looking at going up to premium 4 and 5 BHK row houses and bungalows with fancy fitting and high-tech amenities. This itself creates pressure on prices and is dominantly seen in the western and eastern corridors of the city.

Self-sufficient

According to Mr Aditya Javdekar, Managing Director, Vilas Javdekar and Associates, Wakad is developing into a young and vibrant neighbourhood, which would offer a good lifestyle, connectivity and more importantly, proximity to the work place. “It is pre-dominantly a residential suburb and will have all essential commercial establishments, thus making it a ‘self-sufficient’ suburb.

Many hotels, malls, a multiplex and even a CBSC/ICSE board school are being developed which will attract the modern Indian families to this suburb,” he noted. He points out that the on-going price pattern in Wakad has two levels.

The budget projects with basic amenities are in the range of Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,800 and the more modern and eco-friendly intelligent homes are priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 3,800 per sq ft. It has also recently launched a new phase in Wakad, designed by an American architect. The theme of the project is ‘unboxed living’ and offers unique living experience through design based on the principles of organic architecture.

To cater to the increasing demand, a 22-storey tower is also being built in Wakad for which sanction is expected by the middle of this year and would be the tallest eco-building in Pune, Mr Aditya added.

The other locations which are in the area include Park Street, Park Royale, Bhagwati palms, the Island etc.

Wakad was a non-descript village with 5,000 locals, which was known amongst other villagers for its tradition and religious jatra at the Mhatoba Temple. Sugarcane, onion, groundnut were the preferred crops with rich black fertile soil for the farming locality in Wakad.

In 1983, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) acquired 50 per cent of Wakad and by 1998, it knew Wakad as one of the potential growth areas. Wakad has on its west, the Infotech Park and Highway, towards east, Pimple Nilakh and Aundh, on the south is the Mula River and the sports city and on the north is Thergaon, another growing area. Another area which has seen massive development is Kharadi, the northern part of the city. It was a small town with 50 to 60 houses. The first expansion plan started with Chandan Nagar and the boom in Kharadi started about five years ago with the setting up of many IT companies.

Infrastructure

Basic infrastructure such as roads, electricity and water supply comparatively a lesser amount of water supply is being provided to this increasing population. In an year’s time, when Vadgaon water supply plant and Holkar Bridge water supply plant becomes operational, better water supply can be assured to Kharadi and other adjoining vicinities. According to Mr Suhas Lunkad of Rohan Builders, the boom in Kharadi is basically due to the emergence of townships such as Magarpatta and Amanora.

“The boom has been happening for the past three years and people are moving out of the adjoining areas such as Viman Nagar and Kalyani. These people are looking out for newer areas which are yet to be touched by the high prices and also the fact that many of the people are working with the IT companies and prefer to reach office in less time,” he said. The current rates range from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000. Mr Suhas also noted that looking at the new projects coming up, the group is setting up a new commercial-cum-residential project in Viman Nagar, which would spread out to about 2.8 million sq. ft.

Industrial activity

Of this, about 1.5 million sq ft has been earmarked for residential and the rest would be the commercial complex. The project would be launched in a couple of months, he added. Some of the other projects looked at by prospective customers include Gulmohar Orchid, Rakshak Nagar etc.

Another area which has come into prominence is the Chakan Talegaon belt. It is currently one of the hot spots of industrial development as the likes of Bajaj, York India Ltd., Jindal, JCB etc have already set up their facilities. The MNC auto majors such as General Motors and Volkswagen are also setting up operations in this area. Chakan lies at the centre of Maharashtra’s golden triangle - Mumbai, Pune and Nashik. And there is also a proposed ring road around Pune, passing through the village Mhalunge, bringing the site on the property map. Flora city by Namrata Developers, residential projects such as Vision City by Siddhivinayak group, Vastushree, by N G Kilkarni Brothers Pvt Ltd, Dwarka by Naiknavare Associates are some of the housing projects which are on stream in Talegaon and Swapna Nagari in Chakan.

IT boom

Just a 20-minute drive from the Camp Area is Hadapsar which has been witnessing property development in the past couple of years. Now, the areas which are adjacent to Hadapsar such as Manjari and Fursungi are also being eyed by the developers for setting up their boards. The IT boom, which runs as a belt from Kharadi to Hadapsar, is one of the reasons for the growth. There is also the township, Amanora, which is gearing up for the residential requirement.

According to Mr D. S. Kulkarni, Chairman, DSK Group, there is lot of interest being shown in Fursungi area. Sign boards of Kumar and Shapoorji Pallonji have already been put up.

“This area would develop more as a commercial space rather than residential as there are many residential complexes which are being set up,” he said. DSK has set up the animation school in Fursungi which is expected to be operational by September, in tune with the educational requirements of the western world.

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