When you ask anyone outside Mumbai what they think the city’s housing market looks like and the answer is usually predictable. Tiny apartments, endless towers and barely any room to breathe. Over time, that perception became so deeply attached to Mumbai real estate that buyers almost accepted it as an unavoidable trade off. If you wanted to live in the city, you had to compromise on space. Not just inside the apartment, but outside it too. The assumption did not appear out of nowhere.
Rohan Khatau, Director of CCI Projects, shares his insights gathered over decades about the Mumbai real estate market, its status, and future growth trajectory.
He said, “For years, many residential developments across Mumbai were built with one clear objective – maximise usable inventory in a city where land has always come at a premium. Open areas often became secondary. A small garden, a clubhouse tucked into one corner or a basic children’s play area was considered enough. That model shaped how people viewed housing in Mumbai. But the market has quietly evolved over the last few years, especially across suburban micro markets where larger integrated developments are beginning to redefine what urban living can look like.”
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Today, the conversation around housing is no longer just about square footage and connectivity alone. Buyers are paying attention to how a project feels. They want homes that offer some degree of openness, movement and community interaction, even within a dense city. That shift has changed the way developers are planning projects.
People spent long periods indoors and began looking at their homes differently. The definition of comfort expanded beyond the apartment itself. Buyers started valuing fresh air, outdoor access and shared spaces where families could spend time without stepping out of the complex.
Instead of treating open spaces as cosmetic additions, many newer developments are now integrating them into the larger residential experience. Landscaped podiums, walking tracks, outdoor seating areas, recreational lawns and community spaces are now being planned far more intentionally. The change became even more visible after the pandemic.
According to Rohan Khatau, the belief that Mumbai projects cannot offer meaningful open spaces no longer reflects the reality of the market.
“Homebuyers today are looking for a more complete lifestyle experience. Open areas and community spaces have become important aspects of residential planning, especially in large-format developments,” he says.
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This is particularly visible in township style projects where developers have the opportunity to create more balanced layouts. A visible example of this shift is in larger township developments that are trying to move beyond the traditional tower-only format. At CCI Projects’ Rivali Park 2 in Borivali East, for instance, the idea is not just to create residential buildings but to shape the spaces between them as well. Landscaped pockets, outdoor zones and community areas become part of the everyday experience rather than features residents occasionally use. Location plays an equally important role here.
Borivali has steadily evolved into one of the few micro markets that successfully combines connectivity, lifestyle infrastructure and thoughtfully designed open areas, and is seeing stronger interest from buyers, particularly younger families and professionals who are thinking beyond immediate investment value.
“Mumbai will always remain a high-density city. That reality is unlikely to change. What is changing, however, is the assumption that density automatically means poor planning or lack of breathing space. The city’s newer residential developments are proving that with better design and more evolved planning philosophies, open spaces can exist meaningfully within Mumbai housing,” Rohan Khatau said, signing off.