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Super-Cheap Housing Booms in Mumbai

Posted by: Nate Berg

19 August 2009 - 8:00am

Despite tumbles in the housing market, low-cost housing is undergoing a boom in Mumbai, India, where the need for affordable housing is high.

Numerous firms are moving in the direction of super-affordable housing, with prices under $10,000.

"After launching the world's cheapest car this year - the bubble-shaped Nano - Tata's housing division announced plans in May to build so-called Nano Homes to cater to this underserved segment. It plans to build 1,300 small apartments outside Mumbai, with prices starting at about 380,000 rupees (about $8,600). The company also plans to launch low-cost housing projects outside other major Indian cities.

Matheran Realty, another real estate giant, plans to build 15,000 flats in the next three years in Matheran, outside Mumbai, available for about 220,000 rupees. India's Godrej group, meanwhile, plans to build a low-cost township outside the western city of Ahmedabad, with apartments ranging from 500,000 rupees to two million rupees."

Full Story: Tata test drives its latest version of cheap: The Nano Home
Source: The Globe and Mail, August 18, 2009
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This is what we need in the USA

Submitted by Michael Lewyn on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 09:23.

But it probably couldn't happen because of zoning regulations and NIMBYism. Ultimately, housing policy is about a balance of three factors: price, quality, and government subsidies (or the absence of same).

In an ideal world, housing would be low-priced, high-quality, and unsubsidised. But realistically, there is a tradeoff: you can have the high quality mandated by American zoning codes, but as a result you are going to have higher prices, and unless you have higher government subsidies you are going to have more homelessness. India has chosen to allow lower quality - but on the positive side, that means more affordable housing, less government subsidy, and less homelessness.

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If hundreds of people in your community raised reasonable concerns about a planning program you developed, how would you respond? Perhaps you might call a community meeting, or ask community elected officials to reach out to community leaders.
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