Is Lonavala Still a Second Home Market?

Purchasing a property in Lonavala has always been an investment in a real estate fabled for leisure and relaxation with warm weather.  The hill stations located in proximity to big cities continue to witness major real estate activity in the recent past. Since Lonavala is less than couple of hours drive from any part of Mumbai and Pune, the hill station serve as the summer retreat that can be reached with minimal planning at a short duration. Like Delhi has Shimla, Bangalore – Coorg, Coimbatore – Ooty, Kochi – Munnar and so on to dwell as prospective second homes.

Located between the busy cities of Mumbai and Pune, Lonavala is comfortably placed for easy commute between both the cities. This signifies the position of Lonavala in western India compared to other hill stations in the Western Ghats. A substantial section of the population has already resorted to online buying of things after the outbreak including simple commodities and that tells the ingrained fear and the underlying desire to find a second home in Lonavala.

Thus Lonavala is a known second home destination for the Mumbaikars for a long time and a coveted realty market. But is not a second home market anymore and it is slowly transforming into primary home buyer market.

Let us explore the reasons behind it and future real estate trend of Lonavala in this blog

Transformation phase of Lonavala real estate from second home market

The new world order after the outbreak of pandemic has created a perception of insecurity in high density cities. The urban population is constantly surrounded by the fear of infection as most of the public places are milling with people and the health conscious wealthy are scouting a bungalow for sale in Lonavala to settle down. The normal encounters with public increases the probability of contracting the diseases many times, so the wisdom of migration to sparsely populated hill stations has dawned on the public.

With the Mumbai Megalopolis which includes Pune as well, bursting at its seams with population, it is safe to call Lonavala as a haven for the sections of society that have a phobia towards crowds. The congested labyrinths of the metro have fuelled the city’s subjects towards finding permanent settlements in Lonavala and they search for those who sell property online.

Mumbai, without batting the eyelid can be presumed as one of the global centres of different professions and trade activity. Many tend to think it may not be a wise move to migrate to a place 80 km away, but the development of Kalyan and Dombivli located at around 40 km  is a sign of what the future portends for Lonavala. It’s important to bear in mind these two are in the plains, wherein Lonavala has the pleasant facet of being a hill station. Stringent building regulations and environmental strictures ensure the place won’t go the way of other cities with high population density in cramped by lanes and towering skyscrapers.

Social distancing is here to stay and is the new normal and this protocol has been found quite tough to be enforced in many circumstances in the cities. Adherence to safety protocol among public is at times scarce and is better to shift one’s family to hill stations like Lonavala to safeguard their health and future in the long term. The excellent appreciation of the properties in hill stations has also made realty experts bullish on the growth of these places.

The work from home (WFH) culture of professionals especially in IT sector and those who manage business through online, encourage them to migrate to their home town or tier 2 cities or less populated suburban. Pune IT parks being very close proximity, Lonavala is one of the most preferred locations by the professionals from those regions to buy property in Lonavala for primary residence. It is supplemented by ever increasing population density and property price in Pune real estate.

Upcoming Navi Mumbai airport and related developments in this region transforming it to business district which catalyse the people to find their primary home at Lonavala eying the potential growth of it in the near future.

Hailed as a sleepy hill station, not long ago, the real estate in Lonavala made headlines across the country with the announcement of prestigious projects like Aamby valley and Lavasa. The small town famous for its farmhouses and lavish villas is seeing real estate development at its best impelling the sellers to post property ad for free.

The future of Lonavala real estate

If Kalyan, Bhiwandi and Dombivli have almost started to resemble the real estate in Mumbai with the sprouting of multi-storied buildings in the last few years with excellent infrastructure and development, the day or rather the year is not far away for Lonavala.  The average price range for apartments is already around Rs.10,000/sq.ft and could go as high as Rs.20,000 in the prime areas of Lonavala. It was the property rate in Mumbai more than a decade ago and offers an inkling of bright prospects in the future for Lonavala properties with year on year appreciation.

Considering Lonavala morphing as satellite town to Mumbai and Pune and the Covid-19 conundrum scaling new hill stations for property, it will be a primary residential market soon or later for sure!