Mumbai Redevelopment Raises Housing Prices and Infrastructure Concerns
Mumbai’s real estate sector is experiencing a transformation as redevelopment projects take centre stage in meeting the city’s growing housing needs. According to experts, one in every three homes sold in Mumbai is now a result of such redevelopment efforts. This shift, characterised by the replacement of aging buildings with taller, modern structures, promises to alleviate housing shortages in one of the world’s most densely populated cities. However, these projects raise serious questions about the city’s strained infrastructure and skyrocketing property prices.
The redevelopment model in Mumbai is simple: aging and dilapidated structures are demolished to make way for high-rise buildings. On the surface, this appears to be a solution to the city’s housing crisis. Yet, as experts point out, it is not without significant consequences. The city’s infrastructure already under immense pressure struggles to keep pace with this rapid vertical growth. Issues such as water supply, drainage systems, waste management, and traffic congestion continue to worsen, impacting the daily lives of residents.
For a city like Mumbai, where available land is scarce, redevelopment has become the default approach to expanding housing. But while this shift increases the housing supply, it also contributes to further infrastructural stress. Experts have highlighted that the city’s roads, drainage, and public transport systems were not designed to support such rapid and vertical expansion.The redevelopment of buildings may create more housing units, but if critical infrastructure such as water, traffic management, and waste collection remains neglected, these new high-rises will only exacerbate the strain,” an expert in urban planning noted.Despite the increase in housing supply, the expected drop in property prices has not materialised.
In fact, the opposite is true: redeveloped properties often command a premium, sometimes 1.5 times higher than older units in the same area. As a result, the average cost of a decent apartment in Mumbai now hovers above INR 2 crore, making the city one of the least affordable places to live in India.
Real estate experts point out that, contrary to basic economic principles, an increase in housing supply has not led to a decrease in prices. Instead, the release of units in redeveloped projects is staggered, ensuring that demand remains high even as prices continue to climb.
For buyers, this means paying more for homes that, in the long term, will face significant infrastructure challenges. While redevelopment does revitalise old neighbourhoods and improve living conditions, it does so at the cost of amplifying the strain on the city’s already overburdened systems.
Moreover, residents of redeveloped buildings are likely to face a deterioration in their quality of life as the city struggles to meet the growing demands of its population. What Mumbai needs, experts argue, is not just more housing but a comprehensive overhaul of its urban infrastructure to support the increasing density of its vertical growth.
