Road to revival

Geetu Vaid

Mohali is one of the most vibrant real estate markets in the tricity region primarily because of a host of micromarkets here. Areas like like Zirakpur, Mullanpur, Kharar-Landran Road, Kharar, Dera Bassi, Banur road have witnessed massive real estate activity over the past few years. A large number of national as well as local players have an impressive array of residential and commercial projects in these micromarkets.

Although all these areas have good potential as realty destinations for end users as well as investors due to better road connectivity and infrastructure, the development has not been uniform all over. Political forces as well as the clout enjoyed by different developers have been important factors in certain areas in the Greater Mohali region getting precedence over others. The pace of development clearly show how these factors are at play. A slwodown in market over the past couple of years and low sale volumes have also had an impact on realty fortunes in some key micromarkets here in spite of having big-ticket projects. Kharar-Landran road and Landran-Banur road areas, also termed as Mohali Extension, are among the key micromarkets in the Greater Mohali region that according to market watchers had suffered due to the overall slowdown and the facotrs mentioned above. With several integrated township projects from big-ticket developers like Ansal API, EMaar MGF, TDI, JLPL etc, the area had emerged as a high potential destination for investors and end users, but slow progress of work and delay in handing over of possessions here had given a hard time to the investors here. Meanwhile, the emergence of Mullanpur belt as New Chandigarh, also stole the thunder from the integrated township projects of this area and lured the buyers away from this area. But according to market watchers all this is going to change here soon with favourable winds blowing in this micromarket.

Favourable tide

The real estate growth of an area generally has a cycle of seven to eight years and the growth peaks at around five-seven years. Most of the projects on Kharar-Landran road are at the five to seven year time scale and are nearing completion, infrastructure, too, is in place now, so the end-user interest is more and this has given a boost to the real estate fortunes here. “The Mohali Extension area has a clear head start of three to five years over New Chandigarh and in spite of the delay most of the projects here are nearing completion and this means that before long people will start moving in here and this will mean better return on investment as well as price appreciation”, says Dipinpreet Singh, Director, West Coast Investments, Mohali

A number of builders are in the process of handing over possessions here. Emaar MGF that has one of the largest projects — Mohali Hills — in this area and was under a cloud of delay for quite sometime, has started handing over possessions of villas and apartments. The TDI group has also handed over possessions at its different residential and commercial projects with in TDI City - I & II (Sector 117, 118, 119, 110 & 111). Families have already moved into Ansals group’s projects Orchard County in Sector 115 and in independent floors in Golf Link I Sector 114.

“Handing over of plots and residential units always brings in positivity in the market as it is at this stage that the tangible product is transferred in real terms to the customer. It further leads the customer / end-user in planning to move to the new property or build one, in case of plots. So habitation of the project starts happening, which further leads to other developments such as commercial, institutional etc. All this has a positive impact on the real estate market”, Himanshu Pant, Business Head - Punjab, Ansal API.

Market drivers

Better connectivity with Chandigarh and Mohali is one of the key market drivers here. “Connectivity is one of the major plus points as the area has as many as five roads connecting it with the rest of Mohali and Chandigarh and this means shorter commuting time once people start moving in here”, says Rajbeer Singh, a local businessman who has recently invested in a property in this area.

The location of the proposed international airport of Chandigarh in this region is seen as a catalyst for growth.

The presence of IT SEZ and demand flowing in from the professionals operating from the companies located in Sectors 72-75.

“Infrastructural developments, including construction of internal road network, a multi-terminal bus stand and commercial complex in Sector 57, adjoining Verka Chowk on National Highway 21, will also drive the growth in this micro market”, says Pant.

Affordability is another major factor that makes Mohali Extension an attractive option for end users. While in Mohali sectors the prices of high-end apartments have already touched Rs1 crore mark, here one can still get a 3 BHK in Rs45 to Rs60 lakh range. “This comes out to a difference of almost 100 per cent in price for a location that is just three to four kms from the main sectors of Mohali”, says Dipinpreet. Thus, once the market situation improves the prices here too will see a substantial jump of over 30 per cent in the next five years, opine experts.

The area also has something to suit every budget as the vast number of projects have a wide range of products from villas to plots to studio apartments to independent floors. “Smaller plots as well as smaller residential units are also available in the integrated townships, which is not the case in New Chandigarh which is more suitable for the affluent buyers”, says Dipinpreet.

“Smaller plots as well as smaller residential units are also available in the integrated townships, which is not the case in New Chandigarh which is more suitable for the affluent buyers”, says Rajinder Sahni, A Mohali-based real estate consultant. Buyers from Punjab towns looking for a second home or looking for a place to stay for their children studying in Chandigarh find this to be an attractive proposition.

Roadblocks

While delay in the completion of projects is one of the major concerns for several buyers who already have invested here, internal roads, electricity , water and sewage facilities in different projects are also not up to the mark at present. “Laxity on this front can be very harmful for property market here as most of the buyers go by word-of-mouth feedback and once the word goes around that a project doesn’t have basic facilities then it is very difficult for the developer to offload inventory”, says Sahni.

Absence of shopping complexes, restaurants and entertainment areas is another factor that can hit the “livability quotient” here. The people who have already moved into some of the projects here have to depend on Mohali markets for their needs. “The nearest mall is the North Country Mall which is around 3 km depending on the project you are in”, says Dipinpreet.

Thus, while this area no doubt has the potential to be a good investment option, it depends on how soon and how effectively the authorities as well as the developers smoothen the rough patches to make Mohali Extension live up to its promise of a thriving micromarket of Mohali.