PIC / Pradeep Dhivar

Anuj Puri, country head of Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj, tells Mumbai how to balance its housing demand-supply ratio

Though incomes are high, there's a disproportionate demand-supply ratio for home-buyers in Mumbai. The primary real-time solution will only come as a government directive to developers that will ensure that every authorised housing project includes a significant component of lower-income group (LIG) and middle-income group (MIG) housing.

Increasing the FSI is not the only solution, because we do not have the infrastructure to support it.

To make sure that more saleable homes come into the market, Mass Urban Transit Project and other transport related undertakings must be put on the fast track. This will ensure that new residential areas open up.

In order to live a quality life, there's this natural need to live close to the workplace. This has led to congestion and other infrastructural problems in the heart of the city.

By improving accessibility to the far-flung suburbs, the outskirts are becoming more attractive to the LIG, as well as the HIG. The former responds to the lower property rates and the latter has always shown a preference for more ambient surroundings. The reduced congestion in the inner city will open up options for the MIG.

And, the good part is that most developers are now attuned to the fact that there is more number-based business potential in middle-income housing than the one-off segment of luxury housing. However, the fact remains that middle-income housing has become a vague, nominal concept here, since the applicable rates could well be those of luxury housing in other cities. 

I would say that home-buyers should wait and watch the market before making a purchase. The current market scenario presents potential home-buyers with an unprecedented opportunity one that has not been available for over a decade in Mumbai.

As of now, most developers still retain their holding capacity and will not compromise on prices this will definitely change in another six to eight months.

Anuj Puri lists down some solutions that Mumbai can adopt to improve its
infrastructure in Hot Property next week.