Waghbil, near Thane’s Ghodbunder road, was once an underdeveloped town with narrow roads and low-rise residential developments. It was known as a second home destination, with properties available at relatively affordable rates. Today, Ghodbunder Road has evolved into a suburb with sprawling flyovers, uninterrupted highways, wide roads and commercial developments, thereby benefiting Waghbil significantly.
Ghodbunder Road has integrated townships and high-rise towers, and its commercial real estate sector has progressed in tandem. It is seeing healthy appreciation in property prices. This stretch is witnessing mushrooming of new corporate offices, of which the 15-storeyed G Corp Tech Park — an IT/ITES park by NV Developers which is located in the heart of this fast-growing IT corridor — is among the most prominent. The region also has several retail outlets, malls, showrooms and banks.
Situated at about 10 km from the Thane Railway Station and 2 km from Ghodbunder Road, Waghbil is emerging as a sought-after residential location, as it offers outstanding connectivity via the Eastern Express Highway. Moreover, proximity to Ghodbunder Road provides quick access to Mira Road from Thane, and to other micro-markets such as Mulund, Bhandup and Ghatkopar. This road is approximately 20 km long and links the two main arterial roads of Mumbai, the Eastern Express Highway starting at Sion and terminating at Thane, and the Western Express Highway, which starts at Bandra (East) and becomes the National Highway leading to Gujarat.
Also, the lower residential capital values as compared to nearby developing areas such as Vasant Vihar and Manpada have proven beneficial in driving the demand for residential apartments in Waghbil. Mid-income homebuyers are finding Waghbil a suitable residential destination. The road connecting Ghodbunder to Waghbil has several projects under various stages of construction, although the Waghbil micro-market itself currently has only few projects. There aren’t many projects available as launches have been few; however, given the improved connectivity from Ghodbunder and the good response from buyers for quality projects, new residential launches in Waghbil will pick up. As far as supply is concerned, various configurations are already available in locations between Ghodbunder and Waghbil, meeting the current demand.
New infrastructure projects will have some positive implications on the real estate market. The functional Kapurbawdi Flyover has considerably reduced traffic congestion in this region. The proposed Metro rail, which will connect Thane to Wadala in its next phase, will drive up prices significantly.
As of today, Waghbil is a preferred residential destination for price-sensitive home seekers, due to the lower rates when viewed against core Thane city. Currently, prices range between Rs 8,500-9,500/sq ft. With Thane enjoying a rental yield of 2.6 per cent, Waghbil should fetch around the same or slightly higher. Annual appreciation has been of four-seven per cent, depending on the exact location, type of the project and amenities offered.
The writer is COO - Business & International Director, JLL India
