Subhankar Mitra, AVP - Strategic Consulting, Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj:

The end of the forest land debacle in Mumbai spells good news for developers whose projects were roadblocked in the affected areas of Mulund, Vikhroli, parts of Borivali, Goregaon and other fringe areas around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. This marks an end to the long-standing uncertainty over these areas and the priojects that had been launched and not completed there. The builders in question can now complete their pending projects, anda the penalties involved will not be seen as a constraint in the light of the high property prices that these areas command. This is also the end to the suspense that buyers into these projects were subjected to.

The increase of residential supply in these areas will help in stabilizing property rates there in the short-to-medium term. Buyers can now take possession with the assurance that there will be no future legal entanglements. This fact will also reflect positively on the appreciation potential of these projects - apart from the fact that they can now be sold at the prevailing market rates, rather than the significantly discounted prices that were in evdience while the forest land issue was still pending in court.