Uncertainty in Ulwe Real Estate
When the ambitious projects such as Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) and Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) were announced in Navi Mumbai, Ulwe was touted as a locality which would see rapid development. Property prices suddenly shot up and a sizeable population also bought property in the locality in anticipation of the locality’s growth. For example, the average property price during the fourth quarter of 2012 was approximately Rs. 5,700 per sq.ft. However, with the projects still not being reality, there are questions about whether Ulwe is a good destination to invest at the present moment.
Project uncertainty affects people
While there is some positive movement in both projects, there is no substantial activity that has taken place since the project proposal. This has affected everyone associated with the locality in one way or the other. Developers have paid exorbitant prices for the land. Customers paid premium prices for their properties. There were other social infrastructure and civic infrastructure projects such as Seawood-Uran Railway that were planned, which are much behind schedule due to problems with funding.
These delays also resulted in a sudden fall in the demand for projects that are almost nearing completion. Hence, developers with their projects at advanced level of construction are seeing an inventory pile up. Adding to that is the hesitance of buyers due to sluggish economy and uncertain political scene as well as fear of further government delays in executing necessary infrastructure projects.
An underlying opportunity
While the prospects of Ulwe’s development are uncertain, experts believe that there is a golden opportunity. There are different reasons to believe that one can look at Ulwe as a good prospect for home buying.
1. Navi Mumbai is the most preferred alternative to Mumbai due to connectivity, infrastructure and planned development. As such, there is significant demand for areas in Navi Mumbai. Having said that, inventory in most of the popular areas such as Vashi, Kamothe, Kharghar, Seawoods and Sanpada are exhausted. There are also limited land parcels available for development. Localities such as Ulwe are the next best options as there is significant land parcel available for development at a low cost. Hence, these areas will eventually see demand and a rise in property prices.
2. Accessibility to Vashi/Mumbai from Ulwe is not a concern. Civic amenities and and public transport connectivity is also better in Ulwe compared to several smaller nodes. Though the Seawoods Uran Railway line is delayed, once completed, the railway line will directly connect Ulwe to CST-Panvel railway line of the Mumbai suburban railway network.
3. Though the ambitious MTHL and NMIA projects are going slow, they are making progress and will be completed. These are ambitious projects for CIDCO and the state government. Hence, they have resolved to complete these projects.
Hence, according to experts, it does make good sense to buy property in Ulwe at the moment. However, it is ideal for a buyer to opt for under-construction projects that are still in early stages since, by the time the project is ready, the supporting civic and social infrastructure would have come up.