Mhada gets over 120 entries for its costliest Rs 5 crore SoBo flats

MUMBAI: All things being equal, it is location that commands a high price for real estate in Mumbai. And it is this factor that state housing board Mhada hopes to encash while selling its costliest apartments of all time. Three two-bedroom flats in Dhavalgiri building near August Kranti Maidan and Grant Road station, are priced at Rs 5.8 crore, Rs 5.1 crore and Rs 4.9 crore. The lottery will be drawn on December 16.

With three days to go before applications close on December 10, the housing board has received 44 entries for the most expensive flat worth Rs 5.8 crore. This flat, number 501, on the fifth floor measures 91.63 square metres or 986 square feet. Two other houses on the third floor, 301 and 302, have received 42 and 44 applications, respectively. The area is 80-82 sq m or 860-882 sq ft. The flats, which are close to south Mumbai’s business district, are cross-ventilated and offer an elevated view of the surrounding landscape.



It will be a while, though, before the new owners can move in. Amenities and finishing touches are a distant call. The interiors are not unlike other Mhada colonies of suburban Mumbai. The flooring is uneven, the walls unfinished, with plaster and paint peeling off in several sections. Kitchen tiles are white and outdated, fittings are exposed and plumbing is of poor quality.

The building manager said Dhavalgiri was not a new construction. It was built in 2003 by a prominent realtor whose luxurious tower stands adjacent to it. “The cost of similar sized flats in the area is Rs 7 crore, so Rs 5-6 crore is cheap,” he said. Yet, lottery winners might end up spending an equivalent sum on these flats should they decide to alter the interiors, said a real estate observer. Mhada president Uday Samant said the housing board would spruce up the flats before occupants move in.