Pune was once considered a pensioner’s paradise. However, this tagline no longer exists. Various factors such as growing Information Technology sector, spread of organized retail and city’s shifting demographics are now defining the real estate market in Pune.
History of Pune’s demographics
Out of all the factors, the changing demographics of Pune has had a significant impact on the real estate market in the city, both in terms of types as well as sizes of homes. Till the late 1980s, Pune was filled with people working in laid-back service industries and the demand for housing was majorly driven by these. People usually saved up a sizeable financial corpus and purchased a home available in their budget, preferably with no or little leverage.
The pay scales were usually low to moderate in comparison with higher pay scales in Mumbai. There were also few international employment opportunities which reduced the chances for the city’s qualified youth to explore overseas opportunities. As such, the residential real estate market in Pune catered to the basic level of requirements. Not many developers were adventurous in specifications, locations and unit sizes. Property investment potential and property rates were also low.
Changing demographics in Pune
Post 1980s, the city started emerging as a destination for IT industry. The BPOs first capitalized Pune’s considerable English-speaking human resource and lower property rates. The economic scenario of the city immediately started changing. With the influx of more BPOs and IT companies, pay scales went up. Coupled with the desire for purchasing homes and ready availability of home loans, the demand for homes in Pune went up.
This also had an impact on location preferences. Firms prefer to set up shop in less expensive areas while employees prefer to stay close to their work place. With Yerwada springing up, surrounding areas also started attracting attention while shifting focus from more central locations.
Increase in demand
Builders today are catering to entirely different demographics. Demand has changed from traditional houses with basic amenities to apartments with ultra-modern facilities and locations that offer quick access to the IT hubs. MIDC in Pimpri-Chinchwad is also boosting demand for residential units within its vicinity.
Pune currently witnesses an average annual demand of 46,000 housing units. Unlike Mumbai, which has high unsold inventory, Pune sees good supply as well as absorption of homes. Despite high demand, Pune property rates are relatively balanced, which makes property buying economically viable here.
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