Mumbai flats getting smaller: 2BHKs now have 25% less area compared to 2014

The sizes of 2 bedroom-hall-kitchen (BHK) flats in Mumbai have shrunk by around 25 percent in the last five years, with property developers playing on the customer’s psyche of wanting larger flats at lower rates.

According to a report by global real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank, 60 percent of all new launches in 2018 across the country’s eight major cities were within the price bracket of Rs 50 lakh.

With a focus on the affordable and mid-range segment, in line with the buyer’s changing preferences, developers are reducing the per square foot area of flats to bring down the prices in a bid to boost sales.

Developers who were building 2BHK houses of 948-sqft in the western suburbs in 2014 have reduced the size to 707-sqft in new projects, the report says. The near 25 percent drop in square footage has made 2BHKs more affordable for a larger customer base.

A similar trend is visible in Thane and Navi Mumbai, where the size of 2BHK flats have come down from 1,004-sqft to 786-sqft (around 22 percent) and 857-sqft to 735-sqft (around 15 percent) respectively in the same period.

“Currently, affordable houses are driving the market sales. There is a considerable increase in the demand for such apartments in the past five years,” Gulam Zia, executive director, Knight Frank, was quoted as saying.

“We are also seeing 1- and 2- BHK houses being built in South and Central Mumbai. This was unheard of years ago. Smaller houses, within Rs 1 crore, are available in the Sewri-Wadala belt,” he added.

With the city’s property rates skyrocketing, builders are trying to woo customers with compact houses at affordable rates, say experts.

The growing popularity of smaller houses has reduced the average ticket price, as a result of which prices of flats in Mumbai decreased by 7 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, with 63,893 flats sold in 2018 compared with 62,256 units in the preceding year, MMR saw a 3 percent rise in year-on-year sales.