Affordable housing remains a dream

The high realty prices continued to keep homebuyers away from new purchases as was evident in the Property Exhibition, which started on Thursday. Homebuyers, who attended the Property 2011 exhibition organised by the Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI) , rued the exorbitant prices of properties. Talking to the Hindustan Times, Meher Abbas, who works in the Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) , called the exhibition a let down for the common man. “The exhibition only showcases high-end properties for the super rich class,” said Abbas. Abbas, who is currently residing in the MPT quarters, said he would be forced to migrate to far-off place after his retirement. Businessman Anand Rawat agreed and said, “I am unable to find a property within my budget of Rs50 lakh in the city.” In the past two years, builders have raised the prices to unrealistic levels. It was gauged from the fact that there were very few properties within the price range of Rs1 crore. For Mumbaiites, affordable housing may still remain just another dream. Lodha project's Aurun Grande at Kanjurmarg is now commanding Rs1 crore while Powai-based Amrit Shakti is priced at Rs1.5 crore. Even neighbouring townships have nothing much to offer in the affordable range, with most flats here costing from Rs50 lakh onwards — Rodas Project of the Hiranandani Group priced at Rs90 lakh onwards and Kalpataru Hill priced at Rs55 lakh onwards. Builders defend the rates. “The rates will not decrease as all things have become costlier. Those who need will buy anyway,” said Sukhraj Nahar, director, Nahar Group. He said that the current scenario where the permissions are delayed will only contribute to high realty rates. Experts, however, beg to differ on this. According to Yeshwant Dalal, president, Estate Agents Association of India, said the rates reduction is evitable. “There are no sales and this bubble is bound to burst. It is just a matter of time when correction will occur,” said Dalal. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Affordable-housing-remains-a-dream/Article1-685441.aspx