Top 3 Areas of Pune Offering Affordable Housing Options

A lot of areas in peripheral Pune are developing into residential hubs for their proximity to the IT hubs in the areas. One such area towards the north west of Pune is Sinhagad Road which has shown elevated residential development as roughly 22 brand new projects are slated to be delivered in 2016-17. Given the population concentration in Pune which is active in manufacturing and IT industries, the demand for multi-storeyed flats in Pune has heightened.

Because land banks have started shrinking inside the city, residential properties need to be constructed in peripheral areas. Micro markets are seeing a lot of development in real estate.  From villas to multi-storey apartments, a large variety of housing choices are available to buyers. The prices of these apartments are between Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 1 crore. The sizes of these flats in Pune are between 650 sq. ft. to 1500 sq. ft. and their layouts are 3, 2 and 1 BHK. Some of the projects also offer 4BHK apartments whose size varies between 1800 sq. f.t and 2000 sq. ft. However, buyers in Pune prefer the 2BHK configuration.

The projects are mostly gated communities while amenities such as gymnasia, club houses, children’s play area, indoor games room, parks, lifts, rain water harvesting facilities, power back up, swimming pool and 24 hour security is available. 

Popularity of Sinhagad Road 

The area is only 8kms from the central part of Pune and it takes 30 minutes to reach the area by car. The IT parks of Hinjewadi and Baner are well connected to the area as both these areas are 30 to 35 minutes from the two IT hubs of Pune. Mumbai-Bangalore Highway is also quite accessible from this area. Banks, hospitals, restaurants, schools and entertainment zones are all located within 5km radius from Sinhagad Road. The availability of land and easy connectivity has made the area lucrative to buyer and developers alike.

Future of the Area

A nine kilometres long road is being proposed which shall lead to the Sinhagad Fort directly. To avoid the traffic snarls that this stretch faces this road shall be constructed. One of the 4 corridors being planned by PMC or Pune Municipal Corporation for BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) is the Dhayari to the area of Hadapsar shall go through Sinhagad Road.

A mega township titled Nanded City shall be spread over 700 acres in Sinhagad Road shall provide additional thrust to realty market of the area. The township is located only 3kms from here and can be reached within 7 minutes. Numerous IT companies, corporate houses, gaming and animation companies shall be located here. The location of these corporate offices shall create work opportunities that would in turn result in housing demand of the area. From this, it can be inferred that demand for property would be high in Sinhagad Road and so would the supply be. Many property options are available in the area to pick from and they are negotiable as well. 

Rahatni and Chikhali

Located in Northern Pune, Rahatni and Chikhali have witnessed the largest supply of small flats. These two neighbourhoods have mostly 2 and 1 BHK flats to offer. The higher capital values for large units has made the middle class turn to probably house buyers for opting for relatively affordable and lower priced smaller units. Most of the buyers of the area are professionals whose monthly salary is between Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. Such professionals belong to the mid income group that cannot afford loans of bigger amounts. As these people are not willing to invest more than what their budget permits, they have to keep away from bigger units.

For a 1BHK flat in Pune Chikhali which has a carpet area of 600 to 700 sq. ft, buyers would have to pay around Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakhs while for similar apartments in Rahatni with carpet area of 700 to 900 sq. ft., the price is around Rs 30 to Rs 35 lakhs. In Rahatni, 2BHK flats of carpet area 900 sq. ft. to 1200 sq. f.t are priced at Rs 40 lakhs to Rs 65 lakhs while similar flats in Chikhali that measure 700 sq. ft. to 900 sq. ft. would set buyers back by Rs 30 lakhs to Rs 50 lakhs.

Builders have understood the trends in the market and are willing to provide more numbers of small units. In these areas, the sales of 4 and 3BHK flats are almost negligible this is another reason why builders are focusing more on small units. Developers cannot slash price and in turn profits which are associated with bigger units. However, they can focus on smaller units when the demand is high. The profit margin of small units is lesser but the demand being high makes it profitable to supply small units as the margin is covered. Relative to 2BHK and 1BHK apartments, only a handful of 3BHK flats in Pune are available in these areas. The cost of a 3BHK flat in Chikhala is around Rs 45 lakhs to Rs 70 lakhs while price of similar units begin from Rs 60 lakhs and may hike up to rupees 1 crore in the area of Rahatni.

Compared to investors the numbers of end users in Rahatni and Chikhala are more. Those who purchase these flats prefer living in them and not consider them as investments. A lot of the buyers are not locals of Pune and hence they are unwilling to spend too much on property. They prefer rental accommodations and even then small units are chosen over large ones.

When it comes to physical and social infrastructure, Rahatni and Chikhali are both developing. Compared to developed areas of Pune such as Koregaon Park and Hinjewadi, prices are still low. Market analysts believe that land banks of Koregaon Park and Hinjewadi are saturated almost and hence Rahatni and Chikhali have a lot of scope as many developers are introducing projects in these areas.

Therefore if you are constrained by budget, then you can opt for Rahatni or Chikhali as an investment destination.