Developers, property dealers and sectoral analysts opine that land prices in the city may nosedive over the coming months, as the Telangana movement gains strength  With the booming success of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the by-elections, the prospect of a separate Telangana state looks bright. This has created jim-jams in the property business, especially in and around Greater Hyderabad. The current situation may prompt prospective buyers to defer purchase plans on the ground that real estate prices may drop. TRS leader T Harish Rao set a record in the electoral politics of Andhra Pradesh by being re-elected from Siddipet assembly as he won by a margin of more than 95,000 votes. On a whole, the by-election results came as a shock and realty professionals strongly believe that land prices will plummet in the near future and therefore may affect the revival of the real estate business in the city.
Straight from experts
According to Hyderabad-based realty analysts, the global financial crunch severely affected the state’s property business. Post-recession, the real estate business started picking up gradually as buyers returned to the market and the Telangana movement cooled down.
“The recession affected us badly; however, we did good business over the last 2 months. Currently, property prices in the city range from Rs 2,600-2,700 per square feet. Although I do not perceive any correction in property prices, there is a possibility that land prices may drop severely due to regaining spirit of the Telangana movement,” says S Satyanarayana Reddy, CMD of Sri SaiRam Projects Ltd, a well-known developer in Hyderabad.
Around four property dealers spread across Greater Hyderabad expressed the same opinion to a correspondent at Times Journal of Construction and Design (TJCD). According to them their hopes to cover up the huge losses incurred during the economic slump and make profit by the year-end have been dashed to the ground as they feel buyers might shy away, with the movement gaining momentum. Not only Hyderabad, but land prices in the peripheries such as Medak and Ranga Reddy districts may also drop.
In an exclusive interview to TJCD, Mr Shivaram, assistant manager (marketing) of Aparna Construction, a leading property firm in Hyderabad, also opines, “Land prices have been impacted and may go down further as the movement gains strength.” Commenting on apartment prices, he said that prices corrected significantly from Rs 3,300 to Rs 2,699 per sq ft due to recession. However, improving markets encouraged his company to increase flat prices by Rs 200 per sq ft for its two new recent launches. Even after price rise, the buyer response has been good and the company managed to sell 620 flats out of 1,120 apartments in its newly launched Aparna Sarovar located in Gachibowli, the emerging IT and financial hub.
Jeeta Bandopadhyay |
