Preferred by luxury home buyers

Located in the very heart of central Mumbai, Prabhadevi connects the south part of the island city with the suburbs in the north. It has always been a strategic location within central Mumbai but was for many years saturated. Only when the numerous textile mills in the area gey closed did the potential of redevelopment of these spaces release more land into Prabhadevi.

It is a highly preferred luxury residential destination, since it is home to a number of Mumbai's largest companies. These companies took advantage of Prabhadevi's excellent attributes to relocate their offices from the far more expensive central business district in south Mumbai. Today, Prabhadevi boasts a number of high-grade office buildings, bringing a considerable demand for luxurious homes in the vicinity from the corporate c suite. More demand for such homes also percolates in from the upper management class employed at Parel, Lower Parel, Worli, Elphinstone and Dadar.

As south-central Mumbai becomes more and more important for the financial capital's banking and other financial services, Prabhadevi is gaining increasing stature as a residential location. There are many factors involved in this - and the excellent connectivity Veer Savarkar Marg offers to the island city and as the suburbs is only one. Prabhadevi is part of an elite residential neighbourhood that encompasses Dadar's Shivaji Park and Worli.

Over the years, it has also developed as a high-street market. There are plenty of prestigious car showrooms such as Skoda, Mercedes, Tata, Volkswagen, Honda, Hyundai and Lamborghini.

Prabhadevi is one market that has witnessed a healthy real estate trend and not experienced a considerable slump in its property values. The reason for such a consistent momentum is that the locality has not witnessed oversupply. Also, whatever new supply has been created has been of quality.

Though property rates are still relatively lower than in many of the surrounding areas, considerable price appreciation is expected over the middle to long term. From a peak at Rs 44,000-50,000/sq ft during 2013, property prices here are between Rs 34,000-40,000/sq ft, on the back of decreased supply of luxury homes. Keeping in mind the seamless connectivity and, of course, the snob value it holds, Prabhadevi is the preferred location for luxury home buyers looking for residential options close to their workplaces in south-central Mumbai.

The writer is COO - Business & International Director, JLL India