Thane Real Estate Market: Mumbai Suburb Grows

By Joy Sanyal, National Director – Strategic Development Initiatives, Jones Lang LaSalle India

Over the last decade, Thane has grown from a small suburban town on the outskirts of Mumbai to a large self-sustaining metropolis. It has graduated from a town with narrow alleys and lanes to a city with sprawling flyovers, uninterrupted highways and wide roads - from low-rise organic residential developments to integrated townships and high-rise towers by reputed developers, from high street mom-and-pop retail to large plush malls, and from piecemeal low-grade small offices to an established Information Technology destination. 

With the improvement of infrastructure, newer areas like Ghodbunder Road and Kapurwadi started becoming attractive by the middle of the last decade. With increased population in the core city and the corresponding increased pricing of real estate, Ghodbunder Road started attracting more and more home buyers due to the affordability of the location.

With the pricing going up between 2010 and 2012 for all locations, Ghodbunder Road still remained a preferred destination for price-sensitive home seekers due to its comparatively lower rates when viewed against core Thane city, Mulund and other areas.

Today, with many malls, hotels, eateries and other amenities in being place, Ghodbunder Road is seen as offering more amenities, a better lifestyle and infrastructure than other location.

Majhiwada, an established area, is considered the most premium location in Thane. There are many boutique projects coming up in this location, and apartments are being sold at a price between INR 2 Crore to Rs. 4 Crore. Locations like Teen Haath Naka, Pokhran Road No 2, etc. are commanding premiums over the newer locations.

However, the newer locations are also catching up fast and the prices in those areas are appreciating rapidly. These newer locations offer more options to investors, and are attractive to a majority of middle income home buyers due to more amenities, more open areas and better infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Kalyan is emerging as an attractive location for end users and investors alike. Today, Thane has become a premium location and housing there cannot be categorised as affordable anymore. Hence, a growing section of society is looking for newer further locations with comparatively lower prices.

Further, public authorities such as MMRDA and the civic authorities have taken up major infrastructure work in and around Kalyan, along with the preparation of the development plan for those locations. This is attracting more investors towards the Kalyan-Dombivli region. Developers are looking positively at the present and future potential of this market.

As a trend, more and more developers are being inclined towards sizable, but not too large, affordable housing projects. This is creating the right kind of supply in the peri-urban locations (outskirts) such as Shahpur, Badlapur, Khalapur, Khopoli, Neral, Karjat, Boisar, Palghar, etc.

Area		Price Rs/Sq.Ft.
Ghodbunder Road		5800-9000
Teen Haath Naka		11000-17000
Pokhran Road No 2		9300-11000
Majhiwada		9000-15000
Kalyan		4000-6000
Shahpur		2000-3000
Badlapur		3000-5000
Khalapur		2000-3000
Khopoli		2000-3000
Neral		2500-3500
Karjat		2000-3000
Boisar		2400-3200
Palghar		2600-3400