IS THANE READY FOR THE ONE CRORE MARK ?
A
one crore flat in Thane ? Some people react to this statement with
incredulity while others react with equanimity.
Yogesh Sadhwani examines if Thane is indeed ready to sustain one crore
properties.
Not long ago, Thane was
considered the most preferred destination of only the middle and the
upper middle class. Those with the budget of Rs.five lakhs and above
could afford to buy a h0ouse. With properties ranging up to 30 lakhs,
the city attracted residents of Ambernath, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and other
neighboring suburbs, However, those wanting to purchase plush,
palatial properties rarely looked at Thane as an option.
But
now things are changing. Gone are the days when the city was considered
haven only for the middle and the upper middle class. With palatial
properties worth Rs. 50 lakhs and above also available, the ‘elite’ are
also taking fancy to Thane.
“Thane is no more a poor country cousin. It has people who have taste
for good quality and premium properties.” Says Manish Gupta of
Hiranandani Constructions. After having built a premium project at
Powai, Hiranandani Constructions is now constructing palatial houses in
Hiranandani Meadows and Hiranandani Estate, both in Thane. “Earlier,
buyers looking for bigger houses had to combine flats. We realize that
there is a demand for big houses and that such people are from a
different class. They cannot be merged with those buying 2-BHK
apartments,” says Gupta. This explains why the Group is constructing
two separate buildings one in each complex, with 4-BHK apartments. Each
one of the flats in the two buildings have a price tag of Rs.50 lakhs
and above.
Similarly, Neelkanth Group has drawn up plans to construct villas
costing Rs.70 lakhs and above. The 4-BHK and 5-BHK villas at Majiwada
have been designed by architect Hafeez Contractor and will be customized
to the buyers’ needs. The group is all out to woo its buyers with its
landscape, which will be designed and implemented by a Hong Kong based
company. “There is no dearth of people who make Rs.80,000/= to a lakh
a month. Such people want comfortable and cozy houses,” says Ramesh
Khakharia of Neelkanth Group. He goes on to add that most of their
clients come from outside Thane. Over 60 per cent of our buyers are
from outside Thane. In fact, we get clients from the Western suburbs
as well,” he says. Khakharia explains that those residing in western
suburbs in Mumbai never thought that they would ever move to a central
suburb. But now, thanks to the availability of premium properties in
Thane, they are keeping their options open. Soham Group seems to have
gone a step ahead of its competitors. The Group has constructed Soham
Heritage, which boasts of 3,000 odd square feet apartments. The seven
storey building (currently five, plans to add two more floors) has just
one apartment per floor. “We realized that there are several families
residing in Thane who want to stay in palatial apartments. Cost is not
as big a factor as comfort is. Realizing the demand we designed this
project,” says Poorvi Parekh, Director, Soham Real Estate Developers.
The apartments costing over one crore rupees each boast of armed
security guards, television tracking facility, other than expensive
interiors.
If
experts in the real estate industry are to be believed, this is just the
beginning. Many more developers are all set to join the game.
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