Mumbai Homeowner Takes 15 Months To Sell 513 Sq Ft Flat; Is The City’s Resale Market Tilting Towards Buyers?

The sale of a compact 2BHK in Vile Parle East has sparked discussion about Mumbai’s resale market, pricing expectations and the growing bargaining power of homebuyers.

By Vidhi Lalla 

A Mumbai homeowner has shared his experience of taking nearly 15 months to sell a 513 sq ft carpet area 2BHK apartment in Vile Parle East for ₹2.19 crore, highlighting what he described as a “buyers’ market” in the city’s residential resale segment.

The 21-year-old apartment, located in a redeveloped building where the seller’s family were the original landlords, had been rented out for several years before being put on the market in March 2025. Although the asking price was ₹2.45 crore, the deal was eventually finalised in June 2026 for ₹2.19 crore.

Sold a 2BHK for 2.19Cr – my learnings
by u/juvenile_jack in indianrealestate

Sharing the experience on Reddit, the homeowner said the apartment had no parking, was situated on a higher floor and offered basic amenities such as automatic lifts and an intercom. Despite attracting multiple enquiries and being marketed through six brokers, only three buyers made serious offers.

“Despite having six brokers actively showing the flat to clients, the person we sold to didn’t come through a broker, and the sale happened more because of familiarity. This is common in self-use resale deals. The market has definitely slowed down but there are still genuine buyers out there. Luring a buyer from buying a new or under-construction project to a ready-to-move unit is the real skill needed,” the seller wrote.

He added that while the family initially expected the property to fetch more than ₹2.30 crore, most offers ranged between ₹1.90 crore and ₹2.05 crore.

“Definitely a buyer’s market right now, and we are grateful we received the token last week and are on course to close all proceedings by mid-August,” the seller said.

Real estate professionals say such transactions are common in the self-use housing segment, where buyers often prioritise familiarity with a neighbourhood over investment returns or competitive bidding.

The Reddit post also triggered a wider debate about Mumbai’s compact apartment sizes. One user described a 513 sq ft 2BHK as “too cramped”, while another from Bengaluru commented, “513 sq ft for a 2BHK? Isn’t that a matchbox?” after comparing it with a much larger apartment purchased in Bengaluru at a lower price. A user from Delhi-NCR also remarked that homes below 1,300-1,400 sq ft often feel small in that market, underscoring the sharp differences in housing across Indian cities.

Responding to the discussion, the seller clarified that apartment measurements in many projects developed during the 2000s often appeared smaller on paper.

“Please understand that this was common during the 2000s when the builder would underplay the square footage on the agreement… At last measure, the flat was somewhere around 620 sq ft, and this is without taking in one full balcony,” the seller explained.

According to Knight Frank India data for March 2026, Mumbai continues to register over 10,000 property registrations every month, with residential properties accounting for nearly 80 per cent of all registrations. Around 40 per cent of apartments sold have a carpet area of up to 500 sq ft, while about 50 per cent fall in the 500-1,000 sq ft category, reflecting the continued demand for compact homes in the city.

Disclaimer: This article is based on a social media post and publicly available market data. Individual property transactions, pricing and market conditions may vary depending on location, property features and prevailing demand.