Life Along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in Kothrud

Till some time ago, Kothrud was a micro market that was less known to most people. But over time, it has emerged as a busy locality. The realty growth in the area has been mainly for its social infrastructure and location which is provided to the residents. The area was known as KothrudBaug previously and is located in the south western part of Pune. It comes under Haveli Taluka and Paud Road and Karve Road pass through this area. Kothrud is only 12kms from the Mumbai-Pune expressway and given the proximity of the area to the expressway, the locality has become popular among buyers.

There has been tremendous growth witnessed in Kothrud in the past 7 to 8 years and it has become a destination much favoured in Pune. The growth pace has been quite rapid and the area’s population has gone up manifold. Almost 90 percent of this area is developed and is now considered to be a densely populated suburb. This micro market is a good mix of affordable housing units and higher end housing areas. Currently, flat for sale in Pune Kothrud costs anything between Rs 9000 to Rs 10000 per square foot. In the year 2004, the rate that was going for properties here was around Rs 1200 to Rs 2000 per square foot. The appreciation of prices over the years has been by 11 percent almost. The rental rate of properties is around Rs 17 for a square foot. Roughly 93 percent of the properties available here are apartments. Most of the projects in this area fall under the Rs 7000 per square foot rate.

Currently, Kothrud is one of the most sought after destinations of Pune for the excellent connectivity offered to different areas of the city along with high social infrastructure. As it is an established location that has stand-alone housing projects along with older bungalows, newer unit supplies have been low in Kothrud in the past couple of years. The availability of limited land for newer developments has made builders redevelop the older bungalows and housing societies. The newer flats that are available mainly belong to the 3 to 4 BHK configuration whose sizes range between 1500 and 2,500 per square foot. The prices are between Rs 9000 and Rs 11,000 per square foot and their prices have gone up by 30 to 35 percent almost in the last 2 years mainly because of supply-demand mismatch.

In the past few years, Kothrud has turned from being an industrial area only to a very prominent end-user housing micro market in Pune. Karve Road and Paud Road make the connectivity from Kothrud good to central areas of the city while the Bangalore-Mumbai highway makes it easy to access the Hinjewadi IT Park from Kothrud.

Infrastructure 
There are many key infrastructure projects that are set to come up in the vicinity of Kothrud. The expansion of Paud Road is one of the infrastructure projects that will greatly impact property prices in this area. The twin lane road shall be widened to a six- lane road by the end of 2016. Companies such as Tech Mahindra, Cummins India, and Cognizant are located near Kothrud. The locality has got good social infrastructure and together with good quality civic infrastructure, Kothrud has become one of the most pursued localities in Pune.

The metro railway project that has been planned shall add to the real estate growth of this area. It is likely that Kothrud shall witness important infrastructural developments in coming future with the RamwadiVanaz section of the Pune Metro Phase I which would pass through Karve Road and Paud Road and have the main depot located at Kothrud. Moreover, the Pune Municipal Corporation has decided to add road tunnels to Kothrud for connecting to Baner, Pashan and Aundh for improving connectivity in these areas and ease traffic congestion. These infrastructural developments that have been proposed alongside the Paud Road widening that has been planned along with the current supply-demand mismatch aims to give promising outlook for housing realty developments in Kothrud.

The area’s social fabric is also one of the engines of growth in this area. Because of quick development in the past few years, Kothrud has a lot of educational institutes, MNCs, hospitals, banks and other companies. The quick development has led to a significant decline in the availability of land for more development. Therefore, a lot of development works have moved to Shivane, Warje and Bavdhan which have benefitted directly from the quick development of Kothrud. The extension of Paud Road from Pirangut and Bavdhan has also shown a lot of development.

Future Growth Prospects and Emerging Areas

Because of the dense growth in this area, localities such as Warje, Shivane and Bavdhan are witnessing rapid growth. Currently, the capital values of residential apartments in Kothrud are between Rs 9000 to Rs 9500 for a square foot but per square foot value is around Rs 5000 to Rs 7000 per square foot in Warje and Bavdhan. Comparatively, Shivane is a newer micro market which is being developed and its capital values are lower at Rs 2500 to Rs 6000 per sq. ft. A lot of the projects in these micro markets have 3, 2 and 1 BHK flat for sale in Pune although the demand for 2BHK flats has been highest here. Because of several factors that include higher demand from end-users, strategic location and overall development etc. Kothrud’s capital values may perhaps increase by almost 12% to 15% in the coming 18 to 24 months.

You can look up different properties in Pune for purchase online. Simply select a locality that you would want to own your property in and the website would show you the appropriate results for it. Buying property in Pune at this time is a good idea because Pune has shown the fastest real estate development and also property prices are increasing quite rapidly. Prior to purchasing property, you should make sure of the builder’s timeliness and delivery of projects along with the facilities on offer.

Top 5 Areas for Rent in Pune

If you are relocating to Pune, then it would not harm you to look up the most preferred localities for rent in this city. Some of the most popular areas for rent in Pune are Viman Nagar, Magarpatta, Wakad, Pimple Saudagar and Kharadi, necessarily in that order. These areas were also a part of the top localities in the last quarter of 2013.

Wakad

The area took over Magarpatta and became the number one locality to rent an apartment in Pune. The area moved up two places almost since the third quarter of 2013 to grab the top position in the last quarter of 2013.  Its closeness to HITEC City and effortless connectivity to numerous localities in Pune and easy connectivity to Mumbai makes the demand for rental properties steady here.  The locality has good civic infrastructure such as sufficient water and power supply and effective drainage system.

Both 2BHK and 3BHK apartments are available in this area. For a spacious 2BHK flat for rent in Wakad Pune, you would have to dish out Rs 10k to Rs 15k in a month. These apartments have a carpet area of 1000 to 1200 square feet. You can also find single room for rent in Pune Wakad in paying guest accommodations or 1BHK apartments.  If you are lucky enough, you might come by a 3BHK apartment in the same price range here. Usually 3BHK apartments measuring 1200 square feet to 1800 square feet are available for INR 15,000 to INR 20,000 in a month.

Magarpatta

In the October to December 2013 period, Magarpatta was placed on the second position of most preferred localities. For those looking for easy access to lifestyle facilities, Magarpatta is the best area to live in. The township is popular because of its lifestyle amenities. Also, the area enjoys good connectivity to Kalyani Nagar and Kharadi EON IT Park.

Most of the units available here are the 2BHK ones although there are several 1BHK apartments available. You can easily get a single room for rent Pune in Magarpatta. For a monthly rent of INR 15,000 to INR 20,000, you can get a 2BHK apartment while for a 1BHK you would have to pay INR 10,000 to INR 15,000 in a month.

Viman Nagar

Viman Nagar is close to IT hubs and has several infrastructural upgrades which were completed recently. Closeness to areas such as Magarpatta and easy connectivity to different areas of Pune and good public transport system make Viman Nagar the third most popular locality for rent in Pune. For a 2BHK apartment, you would have to pay Rs 14,000 to Rs 19,000 while for a 3BHK flat the payment to be made is between Rs 20,000 and Rs 24,000.

Pimple Saudagar

 On fourth position is Pimple Saudagar which is preferred by people because of its closeness to the industrial belt of PimpriChinchwad. For a 2BHK apartment here, you would have to pay between Rs 11,000 and Rs 15,000 in a month. For a 3BHK apartment, the rental rate is hiked to the range of Rs 17,000 and Rs 27,000 in a month.

Because of increasing employment opportunities in PimpriChinchwad and other localities, the demand for rented apartments is increasing as well. People who have just moved to Pune find this locality to offer affordable housing for temporary living. The charges for maintenance are quite low in most societies located here, which is also advantageous for the location.

Those wanting good returns from capital investments should look towards Pimple Saudagar as an area for investment in real estate. Properties in this area have had an appreciation of almost 33 percent in the past 2 years. When translated into figures, an apartment that cost Rs 45 lakhs back in 2012 now costs roughly Rs 60 lakhs!

The growth in capital value may be attributed to the increasing demand for housing in this area because of its closeness to the IT Hub at Hinjewadi, located just 11kms from Pimple Saudagar. Companies that are located in Hinjewadi offer shuttle cab services till Pimple Saudagar. Because of the easy commute and connectivity to corporate areas attract house hunters to Pimple Saudagar. There is demand for both ownership and rental housing here.

There are a large number of properties in the area which are ready for possession and are less than 5 years old. A 1BHK apartment which measures 600 square feet can be bought for Rs 30 lakhs while a 2BHK flat with a carpet area of 1000 square feet costs Rs 50 lakhs and a 3BHK flat of 1200 square feet costs roughly Rs 65 lakhs. The charges for maintenance, parking etc. are separate.

Infrastructure

Pimple Saudagar has good physical, civic and social infrastructure developed. There is a large street market comprising of retail shops that offer items for regular use. Also, hospitals and banks are there in the vicinity. However, the area faces acute water crisis during summers and residents have to adjust their regular usage of water for meeting everyday needs.

Once in the day drinking water is supplied during summers. The larger residential communities have storage tanks which fulfil the regular requirement optimally enough. New builders entering the area have planned for an alternative underground storage tank for water. These tanks shall be able to supply 100 families with water and store water till 5 days.

Therefore, if you are thinking of investing in the realty market in Pune, Pimple Saudagar may turn out to be a good yield option for investment.

Kharadi

Making the last spot on the top 5 list was Kharadi. The demand for rental properties here is mostly from the IT employees working here. For 2BHK and 3BHK flats in Kharadi, you would have to pay roughly INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 in a month. Because of the stable demand for rental properties here, the values of rental property are rising steadily here in Kharadi. If you are looking for a single room for rent in Pune, Kharadi is a good option because of the social, civic and physical infrastructure it offers.