Why Mumbai’s Real Estate Market Is Still Red Hot
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A 28th floor apartment in south Mumbai, facing the Arabian Sea, sold for a record-setting 390 million rupees ($6.8 million) this month, underscoring the dichotomy in India’s property market where prices remain stubbornly high, even as the economy falters and the currency nosedives.
Mumbai, India’s financial hub and home toBollywood -- one of the largest movie industries in the world -- is the most expensive city in the country and real estate prices in the city compete with other Asian centers such as Singapore and Hong Kong.
Over the past year Asia’s third-largest economy has grappled with corruption scandals, policy flip fops and poor fiscal performance, but property prices in its largest metro have stayed immune, clinging to pre-Lehman highs.
Anuj Puri, Country Head (India) at real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle, says prices will remain at these levels and he doesn’t foresee a decline any time soon.
According to industry estimates, property prices in Mumbai rose about 17 percent in the first quarter of this year. A combination of a lack of supply, regulatory hurdles that have come in the way of new launches and an inflexible lease market have all contributed to the city’s sky-high prices.
