Punawale – The New Realty Hotspot

Akash Pharande, Managing Director - Pharande Spaces Why Punawale is being considered the emerging realty market of Pune? Strategically located off the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, Punawale has emerged as a flourishing real estate hotspot in West Pune. Punawale is popular with both homebuyers and rental housing tenants, making it an ideal investment destination. What works in its favour are affordability and easy connectivity to key areas in PCMC and Pune City, including the infotech hotbed of Hinjewadi - which employs over 2.5 lakh software professionals and is growing at over 14% per annum - and other prominent locations like Baner, Balewadi, Wakad, Ravet, etc. Like many other areas in Pune's thriving PCMC, Punawale had humble beginnings but quickly turned into a major real estate hotspot when prominent developers started building high-quality housing projects there. The real turning point for Punawale came when the luxury integrated township Puneville was announced. This township was a major growth catalyst and soon, Punawale was fully-equipped with top-of-the-line infrastructure and facilities like schools, hospitals, entertainment hubs and malls. Today, Punawale is a major source of pride for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).   What are the driving factors for this micro-market? While a major factor catalyzing real estate growth in Punawale is its proximity to Hinjewadi, it also benefits from the industrial areas of Pimpri-Chinchwad, Chakan and Talegaon. The demand from manufacturing employees gave rise to Punawale's emergence as a top-notch affordable housing district. Punawale is a far more affordable alternative to the nearby locality of Wakad, where average property prices are currently around Rs. 6,600 per sq. ft. Over the last few years, several residential projects have been launched in Punawale which are particularly a major attraction for first-time homebuyers employed in Hinjewadi and the MIDC manufacturing belt. It has a perfect blend of urban development and scenic beauty, and is perfect for those who want to live amidst nature and yet close to all the key amenities of the city. Thanks to the watchful control enforced by PCMC and the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Town Development Authority (PCNTDA), development in Punawale remains well planned with very adequate infrastructure to support the residential areas. Punawale has seen several new residential project launches over the last six to seven years. As per data by real estate consultants, more than 8,400 homes have been launched here between 2013 and 2020. Of this supply, almost 58% is ready-to-move-in while another 15% will get completed within the next one year.  Since most homebuyers currently prefer ready homes, this makes Punawale an ideal destination for them. Moreover, Punawale has just 1,400 unsold homes currently, and 76% of this supply is under active construction.   What are the USPs of Punewale residential real estate? While homes in the integrated township Puneville are priced between Rs. 44,00,000 to Rs. 1,90,00,000 for the top-end luxury homes, Punawale is still a haven of affordability. Most properties launched here in recent years are priced within INR 80 lakh. The average property prices in Punawale are currently about Rs. 5,200 - Rs. 5800 per sq. ft. - very similar to Hinjewadi, but Punawale has an edge over the IT hub because it has a much larger palette of options and also a lot more open spaces. Punawale has an assortment of different residential BHK configurations. Demand for 1 BHK homes is very high, and Punawale has far more supply of such affordable housing than the neighbouring localities. Most homebuyers here prefer new homes over resale homes because the newer projects have much better amenities. One can easily find a 1BHK apartment in Punawale within Rs. 45 lakh, while 2BHK homes are selling between Rs. 50 to 70 lakh.   What is the top most reason for Punewale’s fast growth? Punawale already enjoys very good connectivity to various key areas - another reason apart from affordability why the demand for homes remains high here. But the upcoming infrastructure projects in and around the area will make Punawale even more attractive in the coming years - for example, the ongoing Shivajinagar-Maan metro project from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar. This will give a new boost to the area's connectivity by providing easy access to localities like Balewadi Phata and Baner, among others. At the same time, the ongoing development of the Pune Ring Road is also proving to be a gamechanger for Punawale. In the Pimpri-Chinchwad belt, the Ring Road will encompass Ravet, Hinjewadi, Punawale and Wakad. As the Ring Road and metro corridor get closer to completion, property prices in areas like Punawale will begin rising because of the increasing demand for such a well-connected area.