3 city areas will appreciate most in 5 yrs: Report

Mumbai: Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, Wadala and Chembur are expected to generate the highest returns for residential real estate investors over the next five years, a report by property firm Knight Frank has revealed. 
    In fact, seven of the top nine spots on the list of 13 areas across the country are occupied by localities in Mumbai and Pune. While rates in Ulwe are expected to rise 145% in five years, in Wadala and Chembur, the hike is likely to be 133% and 125%. 
    The report seeks to identify areas that will develop because of factors such as job creation, infrastructure development and lifestyle change. "We identified 100 cities using banking penetration, hotel room demand, and air passenger traffic as surrogates for business activities. For infrastructure development, the current and proposed investment in infrastructure were taken as proxies," said Samantak Das, director, Knight Frank. REALTY CHECK New projects to boost Ulwe, Chembur 
Mumbai: According to a report by realty firm Knight Frank, seven areas in Mumbai and Pune are likely to give among the best returns to residential realty investors. Taking a number of factors into consideration, the firm identified Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Pune as the top five cities to identify investment opportunities. 
    From the five cities, Knight Frank has listed 13 zones which are expected to appreciate by over 90% in the next five years. Of the 13, the top three areas are in Mumbai. They are followed by Noida Extension and Dwarka Expressway in the National Capital Region (NCR), Medavakkam in Chennai and Hinjewadi in Pune. The cheapest areas identified by the study are Noida Extension in NCR and K R Puram in Bangalore, where prices range around Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,245/square foot. At the other end are Wadala and Chembur, where market prices reign in the region of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000/sq ft. 
    In terms of infrastructure, Ulwe is expected to gain because of new projects, which include suburban rail connectivity, the trans-harbour creek bridge and the proposed Navi Mumbai airport. Although there has been a spate of titledisputes in Ulwe in the past, lenders say Cidco has become more discerning and there are now projects with clear title where big names such as HDFC are willing to lend. Wadala prices are expected to rise as the area gets re-rated following lifestyle changes that are taking place as very large projects come up. "Link road in Malad has already witnessed a lifestyle shift which has resulted in prices there rising faster. Wadala, too, is undergoing a lifestyle shift," Das said. Chembur is expected to benefit from the completion of the Santa Cruz-Chembur link road, the Eastern Express Freeway and the monorail. 
    According to Das, the Planning Commission's projection of a housing shortage of 26 million units does not reflect the demand for housing but the need. Employment generation will translate that need into demand by increasing affordability, he said, adding, "Our research is targeted at the end-user and not those who are looking at property for self occupation. We have projected the appreciation net of transaction costs but have not taken into account either the rental income or expenses for maintaining the property. In any case, the rental income will only be around 2%."