Will Mumbai real estate prices correct, or will this bubble get bigger?

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Financers have also turned somewhat reluctant to fund realty projects after the arrest of DB Realty chief Shahid Balwa. Several foreign investors are also said to be shying away since the scandals surfaced, making it difficult for realty funds to raise money overseas. Besides, investors say, returns on investments have not been significant in India. Banks have also increased the rates for builders. "Builders will definitely try to keep prices up and avoid a crash," said the analyst of Elara Securities.

According to Liases Foras, a realty research firm, more than 88,000 flats remain unsold in the city. In fact, it has been reported that certain builders, who had earlier claimed that 90% of their flats have already been sold, are advertising these very same flats again. It has been reported that builders may offer a concession if payments are made in cash. This is prevalent especially in Kandivli, Borivli, Thane and Panvel areas.

Navi Mumbai, where the euphoria over the upcoming airport persists, has also not seen any correction yet. The per square feet rates of the Green Panvel project, one of the new, better-known projects, have shot up from Rs3,100 to Rs4,500 in three months, following the clearance of the airport project late 2010. "At the most, they will reduce some Rs200-Rs300 on that. It wouldn't make much of a difference anyway," an interested buyer wrote on the webpage of the India Real Estate Forum.

Pankaj Kapoor, managing director, Liases Foras said, "Price reductions should be more for affordability, and not just a minimal correction for the heck of it. Eighty per cent of the demand exists in the Rs20 lakh-Rs60 lakh space, and it is this demand which should be met."

Mumbai Home Prices May Decline 20 Percent, Merrill Lynch Says

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Home registrations in Mumbai, India’s most expensive real estate market, fell to their lowest in 20 months in November, according to brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Property prices in some markets have surpassed their 2007 peaks, Mahesh Nandurkar, a real-estate analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Mumbai, said in November.

India’s central bank increased the benchmark interest rate to a two-year high in January and signaled further gains in borrowing costs as it raised the inflation forecast.

“With banks reluctant to lend to developers and rising mortgage rates, we expect some of the smaller developers will be forced to sell their inventory at lower prices to generate liquidity, forcing an all-round correction in Mumbai,” Agarwal said.