Strategically located, the indubitably glitzy Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) is an elite commercial hub of Mumbai which houses several multinational companies. Following BKC’s rapid commercial growth by more than 300 per cent over the last decade, residential and retail development has also gained momentum over the last four-five years. In fact, BKC has emerged as one of the most sought-after residential hubs for the upper crust.
Here, we're talking about non-resident Indians, high-net-worth individual investors and top management of leading corporates including Securities and Exchange Board of India, etc. These are buyers who see the value of luxury homes in the immediate neighbourhood of Mumbai's new de facto CBD.
As a residential hub, BKC has truly world-class social amenities in and around the area. It boasts of a well-planned roadways network, is close to the international airport and has seamless traffic control. Top international schools and hospitals are in the immediate vicinity. Another major draw is that, as per ANAROCK data, four out of a total of 17 new malls under construction or in planning stages in the whole of MMR are slated to come up in Central Mumbai areas - including BKC, Bandra, Worli and Juhu.
As many as 1,700 units have been launched here since 2010 with nearly 58 per cent overall absorption. The average property prices hover around Rs 42,500 per sq ft with properties seeing price appreciation of nearly 34 per cent over the last six years. Out of the total units launched, nearly 710 units are still lying unsold. BKC has varied size-range of properties between 800-2,800 sq ft while the weighted average size is 1,345 sq ft.
Interestingly, a large chunk of the units sold in BKC is lying vacant while a small handful of the properties have been occupied by staff members of consulates and other corporates present in BKC. Some of the units are used by corporates as guest houses, for temporary occupancy only.
The vacancy of several residential units in BKC is mainly because the man investors here are NRIs and HNIs who are largely living overseas. For them, rental returns are not the prime objective. Rather, they add such prime properties to their portfolios for more for diversity and assuredly massive profits in the future.
The writer is Chairman, ANAROCK Property Consultants
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