Mohali Real Estate: Imitating Gurgaon

Recently, a Shop-cum-Office-cum-Flat (SCF) in Mohali with a reserve price of Rs. 2.5-crore was bid for and went for a whopping Rs. 4-crore. A figure that is, surely indicative of the rocketing real estate prices in this booming IT city. And, this transaction is proof positive that the market is over-heating beyond reasonable levels.

Nowhere was it more evident than at the auction of commercial plots held at PUDA Bhawan a few days ago. In sum total, PUDA pocketed a cool Rs. 40-crore from the auction of 45-commercial sites, at various locations around Mohali. With 51-sites to auction off, including SCFs, booths and bay shops, the Punjab Government was left with just a handful that did not move.

As people jostled to position themselves in order to grab the best opportunity, industry experts pointed out the auction, plot locations and positioning justified the premium paid for them. They stated the Rs. 4-crore bid was not a benchmark deal that would throw Mohali real estate prices disproportionately out of gear, stressing there was no cause for concern about property prices rocketing to the moon.

In fact, one bidder echoed their sentiments, saying: 'They have paid the price keeping the product they are going to build in mind and the market will support the price. It will still be affordable for us and we will make money on the deal.' T.P. Singh of Guru Nanak Property Consultants explains: 'It is true that there are a few properties being chased by too many developers, but the pricing of these lands cannot be considered a benchmark for other properties in town.'

And, industry sources affirm, saying Mohali is slated to become a large retail-cum-hospitality hub, with an IT Software Park, hotels and upscale residential complexes, as Chandigarh's space crunch exacerbates with the wave after wave of IT and telecom giants, impacting returns and viability.

There is no doubt; soon Mohali will be playing Gurgaon to Chandigarh's Delhi. One can see a similar trend, as when developers moved to make Gurgaon more of a hip and happening place than Delhi. Could that happen to Mohali too, as Chandigarh watches with bated breath? More than likely, as Mohali real estate gets snapped up at unheard of prices.