DNA Money Edit: Is Mumbai's realty market reviving?

Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo has submitted a bid of Rs 2,238 crore for a three-acre plot in Mumbai's business district of Bandra Kurla Complex, translating to Rs 745 crore per acre.

Actress Tamannaah Bhatia of Bahubali fame has bought a flat at Versova for Rs 80,778 per sq ft which has an asking price of not more than Rs 40,000 per sq ft.

MSwipe Technologies's Manish Patel has paid a whopping Rs 38.08 crore for a 2,952 sq ft apartment, or Rs 1.29 lakh per sq ft, near Mukesh Ambani's Antilla.

These three transactions in the last one month certainly go against the trend of struggling realty market in Mumbai. Some of the industry insiders themselves are flummoxed by these transactions, especially at a juncture when they have been seeking several sops in next week's Budget.

On one hand, the sector has been seeking troubleshooting of liquidity crisis, but here, on the other hand, such astronomical numbers only improve their margins.

The real estate sector participants claim that institutional funding in the commercial segment has been picking up pace. Hence, it isn't a surprise for the Japanese company to quote such a high price. After all, they are the sole bidder for this plot on the block by the government.

The subsequent two residential deals are viewed as one-off instances.

Nevertheless, the question remains, is Mumbai's realty market reviving?