Hyderabad realty lags, but looks set for revival

The real estate sector in Hyderabad, which continues to lag with tepid sales volumes, is set to transition to a growth phase.

It continues to be amongst the lowest priced markets.

After about three-four years of uncertainty following the agitation for Telangana, the sector is ready for change. Interaction with some of the sector players shows that sentiment is picking up but volumes have not come back.

Enquiries have gone up over the last couple of month, which may translate into better numbers in near future.

C Sekhar Reddy, President of Credai, said, “The uncertainty of State division has been put behind us and will now pave way for growth. It is a golden opportunity for buyers as such low prices are not likely to last for long. As demand picks up in few months, prices which are lower than some of the tier II and III cities, will go up.”

P Dasharath Reddy, President of Telangana Real Estate Developers Association, the newly carved out body of realtors, said “We are passing through a phase of transition towards consolidation and next phase of growth.”

According to realtors, the preferred price bracket ranges from ₹25 lakh to ₹50 to ₹60 lakh. Purchase in this segment is based on need and there is no speculation.

Anand Reddy, Executive Director of PEBL Incor, said, “There are signs that point towards revival of realty, which is passing through a tough business phase.

“Response is based on project location. Hyderabad in particular is an end-user market and therefore, the sales are demand-driven.”

The cost of construction has spiralled in the past three years along with labour costs. But realtors could not pass on as the sentiment was down.

“It won’t be long before we may see price correction in select properties to start with,” Dasharath Reddy explained.

“We have thus far completed 1,500 apartments and expect to take up 1,500 more in the second phase. Several other players are also expected to launch new projects. However, these would take at least two years to be ready for delivery,” Anand Reddy said. A number of initiatives have been announced by the Telangana Government to accelerate the growth of the sector, including development of new areas for industries. These are expected to add to the sector growth, Sekhar Reddy said.

With Hyderabad chosen as one of the locations to develop the Information Technology Investment Region, and several other manufacturing hubs planned including one for the pharmaceutical sector, Jones Lang Lasalle has projected that Hyderabad is expected to require about 32 million sq.ft of office space, 6 million sq. ft of retail space by 2022, apart from massive housing requirement, all pointing towards the next phase of growth of the realty sector.