Nine Reasons Why Pune Is Emerging As A Preferred Real Estate Hotspot

Sujay Kalele, Founder, TRU Realty

Pune, 1st September 2021: Pune’s growth into one of the most promising cities of India has brought unprecedented dynamism to its skyline. As the city’s realty sector transforms its landscape, Pune is emerging as an attractive real estate hotspot in urban India. Here’s why:

1. Affordability: According to a 2020 survey, Pune is the second most affordable housing market in the country. Second, only to Ahmedabad as per the survey, Pune’s EMI to income ratio for an average household is at 26 percent, and despite the pandemic, has seen affordability improve. Compared to its nearest metropolitan city Mumbai, costs in Pune are on an average 25 percent lower than Mumbai. Also, on the Ease of Living Index 2020, Pune ranks 

2. Emerging hotspots for Rapid IT and industrial growth: Pune is a major industrial hub, attracting a  one-fifth of the entire industrial investment in the country. Major industries such as automobiles, Consumer durable goods manufacturing, defence technology, and R&D have established themselves in Pune. 

Pune’s IT and ITES industry has seen rapid growth which has sustained even through the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first quarter of FY 2020-21, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Pune, generated exports worth Rs 18,000 crore, placing Maharashtra in the second position in IT exports in the country. 

Pune also is a hot start-up destination with more than 3000 active start-ups dotting the city. This has generated a large number of opportunities for all sorts of skilled and unskilled labour, attracting talented people from all over the country. 

3. Good returns: With real estate booming in Pune, investors are getting increasingly good returns. Areas such as Wagholi, which are is significantly far from downtown Pune saw a 13 percent increase in their price per sq.ft. in 2018. Neighbourhood close to downtown Pune has seen an increase of as much as 50 percent in prices per sq.ft. 

As Pune continues to expand due to the rise in opportunities and hence population, the price appreciation is expected to continue, bringing variety in both prices and products, as well as promising returns, for real estate investors. NRI investors also have a high preference for Pune’s real estate due to these reasons, along with its industrial and economic growth. 

4. Top-notch education institutes: Pune is famously called “Oxford of the East”. It is home to an impressive array of schools and higher educational institutes, most notably College of Engineering, Pune, the National Defence Academy, IISER-Pune, and the Film & Television Institute of India, to name a few. Pune has a rich legacy of education; it is home to the first girls’  school and the first women’s university (SNDT) in the country. Today, it has top-notch public and private institutions from all fields and attracts some of the best scholars and researchers in the country. 

5. Proposed development: Pune’s inclusion in the national Smart City programme has provided more impetus to the infrastructural development of the city. Pune’s Metro project is the fastest in the country. The Maharashtra government has approved the 128-kilometre Ring Road project which will further stimulate around 50 townships in its vicinity. These mega infrastructure projects promise exponential growth and development in Pune and a golden opportunity for Pune’s realty sector.

6. World-class healthcare: From prestigious medical colleges and hospitals To the famous National Institute of Virology and the Serum Institute of India leading India’s efforts to combat Covid-19, Pune boasts some of the best healthcare research and facilities in the country. 

It is also home to a number of digital healthcare start-ups and advanced research in medicine and wellness. Pune’s healthcare attracts top doctors and specialists from across the country and the world is competitively priced and has good infrastructure, which puts it among the top Indian cities for medical tourism.

7. Good connectivity: Pune is among the best-connected cities in India. Pune-Mumbai Expressway which is a part of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway has significantly improved road connectivity between Pune, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and all major cities on the route. Pune also has rail and direct flight connectivity with all major destinations in India, and selected destinations abroad. Internally, Pune city has a network of municipal transport buses and private rickshaws and cabs. While Metro promises to boost intracity connectivity, the trend of using bicycles for environmental and health reasons is also growing in the city.

8. Cultural Heritage: There is a good reason why Pune is called the ‘Cultural Capital’ of Maharashtra. From institutions like FTII and events such as Pune International Film Festival and Sawai Gandharva, Pune is teeming with theatre, music, fine arts, and various intellectual pursuits. It is a hub for all kinds of artists, both regional and national, and has multiple avenues for both, learning and enjoying creativity. It also holds prime importance in Maratha history and India’s freedom struggle, and is dotted with forts and other historical relics which are a treat for every intellectual. 

9. Top Locations for Real Estate Investment in Pune

Based on all the factors mentioned so far, some of the best locations for real estate investment in Pune are – 

• Bavdhan 
• Ravet 
• Balewadi 
• Mahalunge 
• Kalyani Nagar 
• Kharadi 
• Wagholi and
• Hinjewadi. 

These locations offer some of the best returns of Pune’s real estate scenario, as well as the perks of living and working in Pune, thus making the investments profitable and worthwhile.

(Sujay Kalele is the founder of TRU Realty Pvt Ltd., a tech-enabled real estate developer, aiming to
solve core problems of the sector, namely untimely delivery and lack of transparency and
accountability, particularly toward the customer by leveraging Technology & automating the
processes.)