'We need to have a debate on what Mumbai requires'

Dharmesh Jain, Guest Editor for this month gives his views on how the face of Mumbai housing will change in the next few years

I believe that the future of the real estate industry lies in the peripherals. A few years back there was an inertia to travel to Thane and Mulund. Today they are well-accepted home-buying locations. There is a process and time-period required for extended suburbs to develop.

You need two or three good builders to enter a region and aggressively position and market that suburb. And when a few good projects come up in a particular suburb, it automatically creates the necessary attention.

Once organised development comes up in suburbs, they create positions for themselves. You need the general infrastructure and the general amenities like malls, theatres, eateries, schools, colleges etc.

Even though the demand for smaller houses is enormous, I feel that in the long run that option will only be restricted to the peripheral areas. The city centres will have super-luxury homes, the suburbs will have luxury homes and the peripherals will cater to the needs of the smaller houses. When rental housing establishes itself in a big way, it will provide for smaller houses as an alternative.

The government is coming up with a policy to encourage rental housing. The moment that happens, you will start seeing studio apartments and 1BHKs being made available. Right now there is a very small market available for rental residential spaces. Once the government puts the policy in place, you will see substantial stock coming in that segment as well.

I feel that Mumbai needs to innovate with its limited area. If we are only 434 square kms and have a population of Delhi, we need to innovate. What works for Delhi, will not work for our city. We need to have a debate on what Mumbai requires.