Part I: Markets that Saw more than 400% Appreciation in a Decade
Contrary to the popular belief that newly developed areas fare well in terms of price appreciation, older localities in major metros are doing exceptionally well and recording high growth rate. In the series of three articles, CommonFloor will delve deeper into localities across the country that have recorded appreciation of whopping 400 per cent or more.
MMR: Vikhroli
Almost a decade ago, Sumant Bhardwaj, a 42-year-old IT professional with a leading start-up, bought a house in Vikhroli at about Rs 20 lakh. Today, his 1250 sq.ft house is easily worth more than a crore.
Surprised? Well, you read it correctly!
From a sleepy suburb, Vikhroli today has truly metamorphosed into a burgeoning town. As per CommonFloor Real Insights, in 2005, the capital values for a standard apartment in Vikhroli stood at an average of Rs 2,250 per sq.ft, which today stands at Rs 18,000 per sq.ft, recording a whopping appreciation of nearly 700 per cent in a decade.
So, what has helped the area climb the growth ladder? Well, it lies somewhat in the centre of Mumbai, thus provides easy accessibility to all cities through the roads that run through it. The Eastern Express Highway connects it to Thane, Dadar, Chembur and Vashi. It is also well connected by LBS Marg on its western part, which further connects it to Bandra, Jogeshwari and other western suburbs. It also boasts of a railway station on the Central Railway line, which runs through the suburb dividing it into East and West.
Moreover, social and physical infrastructure has ensured that Vikhroli also gains on the residential front. From schools to medical centres to grocery stores to entertainment avenues, the area has it all!
Interestingly, Vikhroli is still making headlines in leading white papers. Recently, Godrej Properties Ltd, which is associated to the area since independence, sold 300 apartments in a project here at over Rs 700 crore within a week.
What’s available? Our research clearly reflects that majority of the properties in the Vikhroli East are older than 20 years while in West are older than 11 years. Thus, if you are vying for relatively new properties, then West is ‘the’ place for you.
Interestingly, except average age of the property, both Vikhroli East and West displays quite similar trends. In terms of property type, both the areas offer multi-storey apartments in abundance. As per CommonFloor Real Insights, about 75 per cent of properties available are apartments, followed by independent houses.
Coming to prices, East Vikhroli at present stands at Rs 7,100-32,000 per sq. ft. with an average area range of 675-1480 sq. ft. While its western counterpart is quoting somewhere around Rs 8,500-24,200 per sq. ft. with an average area of 720-1,300 sq. ft. On the rental front, Vikhroli is commanding somewhere about Rs 33-46 per sq. ft.
“While all my colleagues invested in ‘then realty hotspots’ by paying a lot, I stuck to my decision.” As Sumant skims at CommonFloor’s research, contented on his investment, says ‘I am a crorepati today’!
