What is big news today in the Reality space – its MHADA having their annual sale of flats !
Within days of launching the sale Online, they have already received almost four times the number of houses available. There appears to be a mad rush for the houses of which 867 houses are in Mumbai and 1726 homes in Mira Road.
Last day for submission is 24th May 2012.
Why such a rush for “state built houses”?... simple – the rate !!!
The rate of flats in Mumbai of private developers unreachable for the vast majority, runs between 50 lacs – 1.20 crores. In comparison Even the most expensive 700 sq ft plus two bedroom apartments for high income groups costs Rs 55 lakh in Powai and Rs 57 lakh in Borivli, which is far below the market price of such houses. The lowest range of MHADA houses starts from Rs 15 lakh in Kurla and 19 lakh in Malad for 200 sq ft plus apartments meant for the low income groups.
Of the lot in Mumbai, merely 92 are two-bedroom apartments for the high-income category, while 234 and 449 houses are meant for middle and low-income groups respectively.
Last year, 4,034 MHADA houses had over 1.30 lakh applicants vying for it while the year before 3.28 lakh applicants had applied for the 3,449 houses on sale.
However with MHADA’s once abundant land bank of 1,700 hectares shrinking to merely two hectares in Mumbai, the numbers are expected to dwindle further in the coming years.
Another Good news is that the Chief Minister recently announced that the ambitious plans to build “rental tenemants” would now be partially changed to sale flats!
This could bring in a large flow of homes for the lower income group.
The Chief minister has been doing an excellent job of holding a tight rein on the building industry. Making strong and long term decisions. Recently the cluster development scheme was also looked at and given a new orientation.
The BMC also seems to be getting serious about streamlining the permissions policy with talks of a web-based tracker.
After a longtime we are seeing the reality ship that had been overtaken by pirates now once again charting a firm path !!
There is still hope for Mumbai ! And to all the lucky winners of the lottery on May 31st, we wish them all the very best.
When Prithviraj Chavan was brought in by the congress High command, as CM of Maharashtra, his mandate was clear - clean up the mess in Mumbai’s property market !!
He has certainly been doing that in an earnest manner. And he visionary and no-nonsense BMC chief Mr. Subodh certainly helped him achieve things.
Most builders were crossing their fingers, hoping for a more lenient BMC chief after Subodh retired on 30th April 2012.... but hurrah to the Chief Minister, who once again hand-picked a person reputed to be clean and tough – Mr Sita -ram Kunte, replacing Subodh Kumar as municipal commissioner of Mumbai
Sita- ram Kunte is a low-profile, upright, capable and far-sighted officer. Moreover, he is of Maharashtrian origin, making him acceptable to the ‘son-of-the-soil’ parties.
Kunte (51) happens to be the youngest commissioner in the municipal corporation's history.
He has handled several city-related assignments.
He was head of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority and served as an additional municipal commissioner in the BMC.
Mumbaiites know the low-profile officer because of his decision as housing secretary to make deemed conveyance (title of land) easier for housing societies to obtain from builders.
Since June last year, Kunte was the planning secretary in Mantralaya.
Many Builders have been bidding their time, and not submitting their building plans, hoping that once Mr Subodh retires, they will get a more “mallable” chief and can go back to their old comfortable ways...
Mr Subodh Kumar had put in place stringent development control rules (DCR), tightening the controversial open space and market policies to curb large-scale misuse of building concessions by developers.
The amended rule allows developers 35% extra area to build residential buildings and 20% additional area for commercial projects in lieu of a hefty premium to the municipal body.
While Mr Subodh may have retired on 30th April 12, the legacy that he has created, we hope will live on.
The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has sent out a clear message: that he remains in charge and is determined to clean up the mess in Mumbai’s municipal administration.
Masss was pioneered by C Fernandes. He has more than 15years in offering Sales Support services to various leading Companies who offer their wares to the Construction Industry. He specializes in Surveys~Data~Research