Ambernath once an industrial suburb to the MMR’s affordable housing hotspot

Ambernath, in Thane district of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, is slowly transforming from an industrial suburb to a sought-after destination for affordable housing. Ambernath, a well-developed industrial micro-market of Thane district, is famous for its wealth of medium to large-scale industries. The locality is bisected into east and west sections by the Central Railway line. Ambernath’s growth took off, when the government established a large ordinance factory and a Machine Prototype Factory (MPF) in the region. These industries prompted residential real estate developments and also encouraged other medium and large-scale industries, to establish their manufacturing base in the city. With the rapid industrialisation of the Ambernath-Badlapur MIDC area and the excellent Central Railway line connectivity between Thane, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar, the professionals working in these micro-markets see Ambernath as an affordable option, to meet their housing needs. Thus, Ambernath is transforming into one of the major affordable housing destinations of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Despite the slowdown in the MMR’s residential real estate segment since 2014, Ambernath’s real estate performed well, in terms of supply and capital value appreciation. In 2017, new launches dropped by 55 per cent, as compared to 2016. This was primarily due to the ambiguity following the implementation of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) and the overall burden of existing unsold inventory in the market (around 8,600 units, as of Q1 2018). Nearly 34 per cent (around 6,000 units) of the total supply, since 2013, is in the ready-to-move-in stage and nearly 15 per cent of the units (around 2,600) will enter the market in less than 12 months. This gives a wide range of options for the home buyer. Around 40 per cent units (around 7,000) of the total supply, is likely to enter the market within 12-36 months. Ambernath is a definitive affordable housing destination in the MMR, with close to 95 per cent of the total supply falling within the Rs 40-lakh price bracket.