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Every major city in the world is struggling to house its hardest working people because housing cost always seems to be a step ahead of the policies being deployed to control it.
Mumbai Is Trying Too
The Maharashtra government's move to waive property tax on homes with an area of up to 500 sq. ft. in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai is a step in that direction.
The property tax holiday is expected to improve demand, supply and financing of affordable housing in India’s most expensive property market, and the move has been received by both developers and homebuyers with enthusiasm.
The Affordable Housing Backstory
India has been pushing the supply of affordable housing through various Central/State schemes and incentives for the past few years.
In 2015, the central government unveiled the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, with the aim to build 11.22 million affordable homes, and between 2015 to March 2021, 11.3 million homes were sanctioned and over 4.8 million were delivered.
On the private side of the built environment, over 50% of all new housing launches across the top 8 cities in the last 5 years have been below the INR 50 lakh band.While Ahmedabad, Pune and Chennai have evolved into the most affordable Indian housing markets in 2021, Mumbai has emerged as the biggest gainer in housing affordability since 2010.