Mumbai’s Oxford Street (indicative photo)
Linking Road, once famous for overcrowding, cheap fashion and roadside shops, is today being counted among the most expensive places in Mumbai. This approximately four kilometer long road, stretching from Bandra to Santa Cruz, is now being called ‘Oxford Street of Mumbai’. The prices of land here have increased so much that in many places the prices have reached Rs 1 lakh per square foot.
New war of luxury brands
Earlier there were roadside shops on Linking Road and people used to do local shopping here. Now brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Zara are competing to make their place there. This means that the places where local shopping once ruled have now become the choice of luxury brands. Big developers and investors are preparing to build malls, offices and high-end residential towers on the linking road.
Attraction of big stars too
The increasing glamor of Linking Road is attracting not only common investors but also Bollywood stars. In December 2024, John Abraham bought a bungalow here for Rs 75 crore. Salman Khan already has a four-storey commercial building worth about Rs 120 crore in this area. This clearly shows that this area has become a hotspot not only for shopping but also for investment.
Developers’ competition and rising rents
Linking Road’s real estate boom has not just stopped at purchases, but rents have also seen a record-breaking increase. Now the retail rent here has reached above Rs 800 per square foot, which is one of the highest rates in India.
Why did prices increase?
The biggest reason for this rise is the high floor space index (FSI). Now builders are allowed to build 17-18 storey buildings here, due to which big projects can be built in less land.