Mumbai's Chembur transforming into real estate hub from industrial centre

Chembur was known primarily as an industrial destination due to the presence of companies such as RCF and BARC. Today, this key location in Mumbai is transforming rapidly into a premium real estate destination, with industrial units, slums and old buildings being replaced by modern high-rise towers. In the past, proximity to a previously operational port had played a key role in Chembur’s development as one of Mumbai’s major industrial locations.

 

As large industrial land parcels were unlocked, several developers gravitated towards Chembur and the micro-market started buzzing with new developments. The area is rich in open public spaces such as Gandhi Maidan, Diamond Garden, Ambedkar Udyan and Tilak Nagar Ground. It also has Bombay Presidency Golf Club. The stage is set for large-scale residential developments to take off in Chembur.

 

This area scores well on connectivity, as it is generously networked through a grid of roads and an established rail network. Chembur lies close to the Eastern Express Highway, which provides excellent connectivity to South Mumbai, the central suburbs, and the metropolitan area of Thane. Chembur also enjoys hassle-free connectivity to South Mumbai via the Eastern Freeway, which links RK Studio in Chembur to P D’Mello Road in South Mumbai. It is also well-connected to BKC, the de-facto central business district of Mumbai, and commercial establishments of the western suburbs via the Santa Cruz–Chembur Link Road (SCLR). In addition, it enjoys easy access to Navi Mumbai via the Sion-Panvel Highway.

 

Mumbai’s harbour line suburban railway has a station at Chembur, which provides it with connectivity to CST in South Mumbai and Panvel in Navi Mumbai. Chembur is also well-connected to Wadala via monorail (line 1). This line of the monorail is being extended until Jacob Circle in South Mumbai and is likely to be operational by mid-2018. The metro station of the operational Ghatkopar-Versova-Andheri line is close to Chembur, and provides excellent connectivity to the central and western suburbs.

 

Due to continuous infrastructure upgrades and rapid growth of commercial developments in this area, Chembur’s residential market has been consistently vibrant and has added around 14,000 units in the past five years. Around 40 per cent of the supply has already been absorbed. Of the overall supply in Chembur, nearly 14 per cent is complete. Another 13 per cent of the residential inventory is likely to be completed in the next 12 months or so, implying a further rise in absorption. 

 

The average residential property price in Chembur increased from Rs 17,200 per sq ft in the first quarter of 2015 to Rs 17,550 per sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2016. Subsequently, due to the triple tsunami of demonetisation, RERA and GST, residential prices softened marginally. In the third quarter of 2017, they hovered at around Rs 17,400 per sq ft.

 

Due to its location advantage, Chembur is likely to witness significant new launches in the future.

 

The writer is head of research, ANAROCK Property Consultants