Mumbai broker wins bid for Harshad's flats for Rs 32.60 cr

Ashok Samani, a Mumbai-based stock broker, today won the bids for the eight apartments owned by late Harshad Mehta and his family in upscale Worli by quoting a price of Rs 32.60 crore. The sale has to be approved by the Supreme Court.

The price of the property, with total super built-up area of 12,500 sq ft, works out to be Rs 26,080 per square feet, nearly three times than the official valuation of Rs 11.50 crore. Good buildings in the area fetched around Rs 35,000 per square feet last year.

Today’s auction, held in a special court, was attended by four new bidders. The court had last Friday extended the bid date by one week. In the last week’s auction, the court had tentatively approved Mumbai-based doctor Bimal Parekh and his brother, Amal Niranjan Parekh, as the highest bidders. The two had bid Rs 20 crore for all the apartments, which are situated in Madhuli Housing Cooperative Society in Worli.

Mehta’s wife Jyoti Mehta as well as mother Rasila Mehta were present in the court.

Real estate experts said Rs 32.60 crore was a fair price for these flats given the court cases related to the property and the current slump in the real estate market.

“I think it is a fair price. Buyers were aware that a few issues were involved. Besides, people are expecting prices to go down further. Prices should go down 20-30 per cent from here,” said Sukethu Mody, president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Goodwill Consultants, a US-based consultancy.

Mumbai developers said the price indicated that the real estate market had not fallen much in the key areas of Mumbai.

“It’s good news for the industry. The property involved certain legal matters. Any other property would have been sold for 50 per cent more. The notion that prices have touched rock bottom in Mumbai will vanish,” said Ramashraya Yadav, head of finance at Orbit Corporation, a Mumbai-based developer.

“We paid a little more than the market price but who will leave a Rs 45-crore property if you are getting it for Rs 30 crore,” the 53-year old stock broker said after winning the bid.

Samani plans to use the property to accommodate his family. “It is not for business. I will live there along with with my three sisters’ families,” he said.

Though Rasila Mehta’s advocates wanted to participate in the auction with a bid of Rs 33 crore, the court did not allow this saying they had not deposited the earnest money of Rs 80 lakh. The Supreme Court had on Thursday allowed Rasila Mehta to bid for the flats.

On request by Mehtas’ advocate for extension of the auction, Justice DK Deshmukh said: “In the current market conditions, if the bidding is postponed, the property may not fetch the same money which it is fetching today.”

Samani has to pay the money within 45 days of the receipt of the sale by the custodian of the government.