Real estate prices in Mumbai: Does the metro rail have an impact?

Abstract

The paper estimates the impact of various neighbourhood, spatial, and externality factors on residential prices in Mumbai. We find that distance from the central business district, proximity to the west coast, presence of slums, proportion of residential and commercial built-up areas, and proximity to the railway station have a significant impact on residential prices. Amenities and open spaces do not have any significant impact on prices. Further, we model the impact of the upcoming metro line on the residential prices. We find that the upcoming metro has no significant effect on prices. These findings have strong implications for policy decisions regarding introduction of land-based fiscal tools such as betterment levies for capturing land value appreciation that is expected to arise from new infrastructure.