Housing In Thane May Get Dearer Soon
Most localities in Thane may soon become dearer once the Ready Reckoner (RR) rates for the state are declared. The Maharashtra state government will announce the RR rates on January 1st 2014. The rates are expected to increase by 10-15% in most locations in Mumbai and Thane compared to last year.
Sales of residential units in both Mumbai and Thane generally have been sluggish in the last year except residential sales. Thane has a marginal growth over Mumbai.
Ready reckoner rates
Ready reckoner rates contribute to the change in stamp duty rates. The stamp duty department scrutinizes the data regarding registrations every year till October and based on the rate at which stamp duties are paid, releases a new set of stamp duty rates. The same process is carried out throughout the state.
Current market situation in Thane
In times when Mumbai and its suburbs started becoming more expensive for people to afford, Thane emerged as the next best choice for people. Thane was also developed in order to reduce the congestion in Mumbai. The city is very well connected to Mumbai via important highways such as NH-4, NH-3 and Eastern Express Highway. It has an excellent physical infrastructure with large layouts and open spaces. This is very popular among many people as they prefer to live in integrated townships.
Several localities in Thane have very good amenities. Localities such as Badlapur, Kalyan and Dombivali have lower capital values compared to several suburbs in Mumbai and hence see a high demand for 1 and 2 BHK properties. Areas such as Badlapur, Kalyan West, Ghodbunder Road and Dombivali East see more demand for 1 BHK units while areas such as Manpada and Majiwada see good demand for 2 BHK properties.
Real estate in Thane
In recent years however, the city has started slowly moving out of the range of affordability. A 1 BHK apartment would cost between Rs. 15 – 60 lakhs depending on the locality and amenities. A 2 BHK apartment may cost anywhere between Rs. 1 – 1.4 crore again depending on the locality. Rental values for a 1 BHK flat in Thane is between Rs. 5,000 – 12,500 per month. The rental values for 2 BHK flats in the city is between Rs. 6,500 – 27,000 per month.
The average capital values per sq.ft are an average of Rs. 3,300 in Badlapur, Rs. 5,200 in Kalyan West, Rs. 5,800 in Dombivali East and Rs. 8,600 on Ghodbunder Road.
Impact of increasing RR rates
Experts have opined that increasing RR rates will impact stamp duties and in turn, the housing sales. Some legislators too have suggested the government not to hike the RR rates saying that sales are already low and hiking ready reckoner rates will make things worse for the real estate markets. The government had refrained from hiking the ready reckoner rates in 2008-09, which had provided some relief for home buyers.
While Thane has slowly started becoming expensive, there are few areas in Navi Mumbai that have a good supply of 2 BHK units and are affordable. Some of them include Kharghar, Kamothe and Ulwe. 2 BHK units are available here within the range of Rs. 36 – 85 lakhs.
