‘Mullanpur has fared well’

Mohit Goel, CEO,  Omaxe Ltd.

Mullanpur or New Chandigarh is the most meticulously planned township in the vicinity of the City Beautiful. With its Medi city, Edu city, PCA cricket stadium and mega townships by GMADA and national players like Omaxe and DLF and smaller residential projects by at least half a dozen local developers, it is also a hot bed of realty growth in Mohali district. A number of independent houses are currently under construction in GMADA’s Eco City and in DLF Hyde Park and Omaxe projects where more than 2,000 families have moved in already. 

But in spite of its grand plans, wide roads and low density habitations, end users remain concerned about the liveability quotient of the area. “Locational advantage and planned growth are the key highlights that make this micro market of tricity most suitable for end users”, says Mohit Goel, CEO Omaxe Ltd., while dispelling the fears about the real estate fortune of this area. Excerpts from an interaction:

The on-ground growth of Mullanpur has not been as per the initial predictions. What are the reasons for this?

While talking about this area on the whole one should not forget the exact scale of this project. It is a huge development and it is unfair to compare its growth with 3 acre or 5 -acre projects in Zirakpur, Airport Road or elsewhere.  As for the growth, road infrastructure is in place for connectivity, major education and medical establishments are coming up fast, the cricket stadium is almost ready and families are moving in. As for our projects, possessions have been handed over to more than 3,000 buyers, many of whom are already living in there. In fact, it is just a matter of a year or two for New Chandigarh to be a bustling mini city.

What has been the impact of slowdown on the prices in this area?

One can’t deny the impact of the slowdown in the past three years. But it is not very damaging in this area. Firstly, Mohali, in itself, is one of the strongest markets in whole of Punjab. 

Secondly, price correction has been there in the secondary market, but as Mullanpur’s inventory was under-construction and in primary market, prices have not fallen the way these have in some other micro markets in tricity.  Sale volumes, too, dropped after demonetisation, but here most of the inventory had been sold before that. Delivery and possessions have not been delayed too much. So, this market has not seen much negative impact. In our projects where the initial cost of plots was Rs 10,000 per sq yd, it is now Rs 30,000 per sq yd. And in flats and floors it has moved up from Rs 2,700 per sq ft to Rs 4,500 per sq ft in five years. So, performance wise Mullanpur has fared well on investment front and over the next couple of years with more stability in the market, investments here will yield substantial profits.

— TNS