‘No slowdown in the Mumbai real estate market,’ says Boman Irani, CMD, Rustomjee Group

Dismissing concerns about a potential slowdown in the real estate sector, Boman Irani, chairman and managing director of Keystone Realtors Ltd (Rustomjee Group), has said that the current data—especially from Mumbai—shows no indication of such a trend.

“While the market is speaking of a little bit of a slowdown, I don’t see it anywhere in the data. There is a lot of news around it, but it is not reflected anywhere in the numbers,” Irani told NDTV Profit.

“Having said that, certain markets may soften. When I say markets, I don’t mean home types but locations—because there might be an oversupply in small pockets. But one should not paint the entire city with one brush. It is very important to keep reading the data,” Irani told NDTV Profit.

Irani said in Mumbai statutory collections have also been as good or up. The overhang in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) area is about 16 months. Whereas a good overhang or a healthy overhang should be about 24 months, he told NDTV Profit.

Irani said undersupply is driving demand, and the Maharashtra government’s infrastructure push has only added fuel to that momentum. Buoyed by this confidence, Keystone is significantly ramping up its construction spending, he told the channel.

Irani said Keystone Realtors Ltd aims to achieve ₹4,000 crore in pre-sales for FY2026 after surpassing its guidance for the previous fiscal year.

Also Read: No link between stock market and real estate demand right now; Strong interest from salaried individuals: Boman Irani

“We have given guidance of ₹4,000 crore for FY26. This number is just not being pulled out of the hat. It is based on data we have on the projects in the pipeline. We have already crossed the guidance of ₹3,000 crore that we gave for FY25,” Irani told NDTV Profit.

On Mumbai’s ready reckoner rates

Irani said the recent revision in Maharashtra’s ready reckoner rates—the first hike in three years—was reasonable but criticised the underlying construction cost assumptions.

Also Read: Mumbai real estate: Redevelopment is here to stay for more than 20 years, says Boman Irani of Keystone Realtors

“They remain unrealistically low, which in turn keeps development premiums unnecessarily high. I hope the government and BMC re-evaluate these to support affordability,” he told the channel.

Irani also flagged a critical bottleneck in the affordable housing segment—the outdated ₹45 lakh price cap that qualifies homes for GST benefits. He called for a shift toward global norms based on size, not price.

Also Read: ₹854 crore, FY25 pre-sales rise 34% to ₹3,028 crore”>Keystone Realtors sales bookings up 1% to ₹854 crore, FY25 pre-sales rise 34% to ₹3,028 crore

On construction costs, price appreciation

Irani told the channel that construction costs are increasing 5-7% annually, with additional pressure from additional premiums and regulatory compliances. He said that he expects price appreciation to continue in line with inflation.