How Mumbai’s real estate surge transformed its cultural identity

Mumbai Indias financial capital has always been a city of contrasts mdash towering skyscrapers beside slums historic neighbourhoods beside ultramodern constructions Over the past few decades the citys real estate landscape has evolved dramatically transforming not only its skyline but also redefining its cultureRealty checkIn the past decade Mumbairsquos real estate sector suffered a massive setback on two major occasions ndash once during the demonetisation of 2016 and the other during the first wave of the Covid19 pandemic However the sector has bounced back on each occasionDespite the skyrocketing prices of houses Mumbairsquos real estate sector is thriving In the first half of 2024 alone Mumbais luxury housing market saw a recordbreaking sale worth Rs 2300 crore This is a 769 per cent increase from the same period in the previous year The residential properties on the other hand jumped to an 11yearhigh with 173 units getting sold in the first half of 2024 JanuaryJuneWhile the homes are shrinking there is no shortage of buyersldquoMy wife and I have been planning to buy a house before our marriage as my parentsrsquo house is too small for a family of five However it did not materialise then Now a year after my marriage I have booked a twobedroomhallkitchen BHK house It is a basic necessity and when both the partners are earning it is possible to buy a house even amid the rising pricesrdquo says Sagar Bhatt a resident of Andheri EastRohan Dutt an IT professional said ldquoThe area we used to live in was not good I feared for my sisterrsquos safety So five years into my job I thought of buying a house Itrsquos big enough for my family and most importantly the area is goodrdquo Dutt bought a flat in Andheri East recently after shifting from Santacruz EastThe evolution of housing in MumbaiDuring the postindependence period the city became Indiarsquos economic hub and attracted migrant workers from across the country leading to a housing crisis that eventually spurred the development of chawls Several old verandah twotothreestoried structures sprawled across Parel and Dadar in the 1960s and 1970s A majority of the residents here were the mill workers grade III and IV government employees and local school teachers While the Marathispeaking population formed the majority these pockets had sizeable populations of Gujarati Sindhi Punjabi and Kannadiga communities As demand for housing continued to rise Mumbais real estate industry transformed moving away from dense chawls to highrise residential towers The emergence of gated communities and commercial complexes in areas such as Goregaon Lower Parel and Powai redefined the cityrsquos physical and cultural landscapeNow tall structures have replaced the old neighbourhoods of the 60s and 70s While the city wears a modern look thanks to these highrises its culture also began turning more complex and like its houses more compactldquoMy sister and I spent our entire childhood in chawl in Parel My son spent his first few years there However when he was around fivesix we moved to a flat in Goregaon in the early 2000s My husband who also grew up in the chawl system in Byculla felt that we must raise our son in a flat However we could not afford a house in south Mumbairdquo says Nutan Gaikwad now a retired employee of a bankGaikwad said the cultural differences are starkly evident in both the housing systems ldquoWe used to play freely in the entire area and go home only when it was time for dinner However my son was glued to TV most of the time and our society did not have adequate space As most of the families had moved from chawls culturally we could adapt to each other in no time Yet everything was different We were wary of who would visit the society When my husband and I would go to work we could call our son often to ensure he was safe It was a lot easier and freer while I was growing uprdquo said GaikwadChanging skyline Aspirations and hesitationsThe mushrooming of highend residential towers often designed by international architects reflects a shift in aspirations for urban living These developments cater to the growing uppermiddle class and affluent sections of society who seek modern conveniences and a sense of prestige The influx of welltodo uppermiddleclass migrants also made a differenceMany areas in Andheri Goregaon Worli and Lower Parel now house tenants who come to the city to make it big Ashu Singh came to Mumbai from Noida two years ago and works with a production company He lives in a rented apartment with a flatmate in Andheri WestldquoMost of the neighbours are tenants who came from outside Mumbai We all live in rented apartments as some cannot afford to buy a house while others are not sure if they want to or can survive here in the long run as Mumbai is expensive We barely see each other on other days but when the society organises festivals we try mingling Itrsquos rare because most of us are busy and work round the clockrdquo he saidGated communities replaced the traditional sense of community that was once fostered in smaller neighborhoods and chawls While these townships provide space for the growth of new cultural hubs the older residents do find difficulties in adapting to the new housing systemsldquoOur society will be going for redevelopment soon I have spent the most of my life here Now one wonders how would it be living in temporary arrangements and after that in a highrise At my age adapting to new surroundings becomes difficult In our society we would not keep our doors shut and would walk into each otherrsquos homes without hesitation That wonrsquot be the case once this society goes for redevelopment and turns into a highriserdquo says 64yearold Umakant Patwardhan who currently lives in a Goregaon societyRama Natarajan cites the difficulties she faced after moving to a highrise in a plush society in Thane from a small society in GoregaonldquoI moved roughly around 20 years ago when my grandkids were small My son felt our twoBHK house was too small to raise them So we moved to a much bigger apartment in Thane However I feel it has affected my independence My earlier house was located on the ground floor I could easily meet my friends and go to the shop on my own and if I was alone some neighbour would always drop by to check on me get me food or even stay till the time my son and daughterinlaw would come back While moving to a new place was difficult initially it did not seem to be a problem However now we live on the 15th floor I hesitated going out on my own after I had a fall Our neighbours keep changing as they are all tenants and everybody is busy You are cooped up in the house the entire time and feel a sense of loss of independence The older housing systems are convenient for the elderlyHer daughterinlaw Vidya disagrees ldquoWe were segregated as per communities there After moving here we celebrate all the festivals together and feel like a part of a bigger community There are fewer cultural divisionsrdquo says VidyaThe surge in home sales likely to stayldquoHome sales are witnessing a surge not just in Mumbai but in Delhi Gurugram Noida Pune and Bengaluru too The current generation feels the need to move out of their parentsrsquo home and live independently They can also take loans as both the partners are usually earning So the trend is likely to stay Cultural changes are not limited to just Mumbai Delhi is also witnessing the rise of a new affluent class which was earlier restricted to those with GradeI government jobs or extremely rich business families As far as Noida Gurugram and Navi Mumbai go these cities are developing their own culture owing to the rise in migration and the working class population As of now it looks like Indiarsquos real estate sector is likely to continue risingrdquo said Anurag Yadav a sales executive of a popular developer in North IndiaDespite the surge in home sales the citizens who shell out their lifersquos savings to buy an apartment struggle with basic facilities of infrastructure in bigger cities While cultural changes will remain a constant factor the need of the hour is to tackle the poor infrastructure that affects people of all classes