Commercial real estate driving interest

With pent-up demand always in excess of supply, Mumbai’s real estate market has always been a hot investment market. High disposable income and easy availability of housing finance have led to vast residential growth in the suburbs. One such locality into which residential demand has extended significantly and gained appeal from both commercial and residential developers and investors is Malad.
 
Malad was a suburb with relatively thin population crisscrossed with creeks and mangroves. This area now boasts of large commercial complexes, shopping malls and gated communities. Some of these malls are Infiniti Mall, Evershine Mall and Inorbit Mall. With several residential high-rises and world-class commercial and retail spaces, Malad has transformed into a cosmopolitan region of the city. It is now often promoted as ‘Mumbai’s fastest growing suburb’.

 
Investing in commercial properties here is a popular option because of historically healthy Return On Investment (ROI). Many investors continue to show a lot of interest in getting hold of strategically-located commercial properties. Owing to this demand, Malad West is becoming a favoured choice among real estate commercial investors.
 

Malad West is a major IT/ITeS-driven locality and has close proximity to other commercial hubs of the city. Well-developed social infrastructure and a decent transport system have led to considerable commercial and residential demand in the Malad West property market. It is a major BPO hub with Mindspace being the pioneering hub. Many MNCs have their base in this area’s world-class office buildings which have generated vast employment opportunities leading to multi-faceted housing demand.

 
Many IT giants have joined hands with developers to boost the area, making Malad West a very desirable destination for their employees. Many apartment projects here offer high-class residential environments with state-of-the-art amenities.
 
Malad is in close proximity to the Western Expressway and well connected to the rest of Mumbai by road and rail. Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, strategic location for commercial travel, is about 12.2 kilometres away from Malad West. Several bus services operate in this area.
 
The locality has many reputed educational institutes and prominent malls, such as InOrbit and Infiniti 2, as well as standalone supermarkets for daily shopping. Malad West is also well-connected to beaches like Madh Island and Aksa, and is the shortest route to popular entertainment hotspots like Essel World and the Water Kingdom.

 
Property rates in Malad are Rs 12,000-18,000/sq ft,  depending on the location, project’s completion status and amenities. Since Malad is fast-expanding, with superb location advantages, leading developers such as Rajesh Lifespaces, Sheth Developers and K. Raheja are very active. There are also many more builders coming up with a variety of projects for a range of clients.
 The author is , CEO & Country Head, JLL India