Are you planning an investment in Mumbai but find it too costly?
Here are some options you could consider

While more and more homebuyers are looking to purchase properties that suit their budget, newer areas for investment are continuously being explored. MagicBricks.com attempts to locate investible destinations for affordable housing. With Rs 20 lakhs in your pocket, areas like Karjat, Neral, Kalyan east, Murbad, Titwala, Shahapur, etc., are some viable options. 

 

KARJAT AND NERAL
“With the Panvel-BhimashankarChakan Highway , the distance between Mumbai to Karjat would be reduced by 21 kms,“ says Danish Bhagat, director, New Sky Infrarealty Marketing Pvt Ltd.“The Neral-Badlapur Highway will be beneficial for commuters from Karjat to Khopoli or Pune. Karjat also awaits a multi-disciplinary university by a renowned business magnate.“ “At the foothills of the Sahyadris and close to Matheran is Neral. It also has a good climate. “Matheran and areas closeby have tourism potential and a lot of investors eye this area for a second home investment. The social fabric is sufficient to cater to the needs of the local population,“ says an individual consultant. “Neral west is where a lot of commercial and retail shops are coming up, in addition to hospitals. There are many engineering colleges as well in the area,“ he adds. Vikram Gadekar, owner, Sree Vriddhi Properties, says, “While much of the development in Badlapur happened because of Ambernath and proximity to Thane, Neral is a close beneficiary due to its proximity to Badlapur. Despite the fact that Vangani and Shelu are closer to Badlapur, infrastructural development hints at Neral to be the next beneficiary .“ Neral is under the Gram Panchayat but awaits inclusion within the corporation limits as local realtors anticipate Neral's population to grow to become eligible.

TITAWALA AND KALYAN WEST
Titawala, under the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) is seeing rapid development owing to its tourism potential and the efforts of the local authorities. RK Sonawane, commissioner, KDMC, says, “Efforts are in the right direction to make concretised roads, provide adequate water supply , monitor underground drainage and develop infrastructure. Housing demand has been sizeable in Kalyan west and the area is also developing rapidly .“
KDMC's City Development Plan (CDP) is also an encouragement to prospective buyers. The CDP , launched in the year 2007-08, has successfully implemented the Towala Lake Renovation Project in Titawala. This is an ongoing project with the KDMC also planning to equip the area with better physical and social infrastructure as they plan to develop it into a religious tourism destination.Water treatment plants, supply of portable water and underground drainage are also being looked into, as part of development project. Subhash Patil of Subhash Patil and Associates, consultant and coordinator for the area's CDP , confirms, “All projects highlighted in the CDP have either been completed or are in progress.“ With respect to housing, “The Floor Space Index (FSI) considerations go hand in hand with the optimum utilisation of land. Due to quality construction, there is stiff competition in the market and property prices are rising,“ says Patil.
However, amidst increased property rates owing to quality construction, the number of takers in the market has declined. A few years back the number of young buyers within the age of 35 was sizeable. These were the ones employed in the IT sectors and earning up to Rs 60,000 per month.

MURBAD AND SHAHAPUR
Five years back, Murbad and Shahapur were not in the development radar of the state and central plans. Arun Pawar, of Savvy Realtors and Investment Consultants says, that more developers are launching their projects here. Factors like availability of clear title of plots, potential due to proximity to NH-3 as well as to the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor have caught the attention of small investors with a very small budget. This industrial area has four dams and is a major source of water supply to several areas in Mumbai. Consequently , it has been declared as a no-chemical zone, informs Pawar.

QUICK BYTE
THE FLOOR SPACE INDEX (FSI) CONSIDERATION S GO HAND IN HAND WITH THE OPTIMUM UTILISATION OF LAND. DUE TO QUALITY CONSTRUCTION, THERE IS STIFF COMPETITION IN THE MARKET AND PROPERTY PRICES ARE RISING.

Agra:





India’s best loved, much visited and most famous — by far — monument is in some real and present danger. On Diwali weekend, there were around 1.5 lakh people inside the Taj Mahal, doing pretty much what they pleased. While many were merrily clicking pictures in the mausoleum (a strict no), others were running their sweaty palms down Shah Jahan’s labour of love (another big no).
And as shoe covers had run out of stock (as usual), innumerable tourists were seen stomping around in their shoes, turning the lone policeman’s duty there into a nightmare. Experts now believe that if this kind of unregulated and undisciplined traffic goes on, the damage to India’s biggest tourist attraction will be irreversible.
The extended Diwali weekend starting Thursday was said to be the reason for this record sale of tickets at the Taj.
This chaotic situation was, however, not really unprecedented. It’s quite often of late that thousands of visitors, many of them unruly, have converged at the 360-year-old tomb and Unesco world heritage site.
According to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) data, a total of 44,458 tickets were sold on Saturday, while this figure stood at 41,893 on Sunday, adding to around 86,351 tourists. But what this figure hides is the fact that tickets are not charged for children up to 15 years of age and they make up a large portion of visitors. Plus, massive number of government officials do not pay up, and then there are scores of photographers and local residents always milling around. One can easily add another 70,000 or so to the over 80,000 who bought tickets, said Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society, a fact that ASI officials, too, attest.
“The seventh wonder of the world is losing its sheen with thousands of people rubbing their palms at every possible space. If this assault continues, the shine will be lost forever,” a worried Sharma said on Monday. “When tourist entry (to the Taj Mahal) can be regulated by the Supreme Court on five days of the month around the full moon nights, why can’t it be done on regular days?” Only 400 tourists are allowed each night for five days when night viewing is allowed here.

Mumbai:

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