Epaper
Is it the right time to buy land in Hyderabad, or is it wise for buyers to wait for some more time to gauge the actual real estate scenario, especially as the Telangana movement is now in full swing, ahead of the elections next year? In what one may call a cooling-off period, there has been a slight drop in real estate in the last couple of months. Realtors, especially those selling land and houses on and near the outskirts of the city, had to drastically bring down the prices. For instance, Hari Haran, a call centre employee, who had been hunting (to buy) a house at Turkamjyal near Hayathnagar, was surprised to find a house being sold for Rs 10 lakhs. Six months ago, the same one was priced at Rs 16 lakhs. “There is a fear that with the division of the state, much of the Andhrite population would stop investing in Hyderabad and would go back to their native place. And this would mean a reduction in the population which would result in a reduction in land prices. Hyderabad’s loss is Vizag’s gain as there are many IT companies coming up there too. Land which was at Rs 5,000 per sq yard has gone up to between Rs 8,000- 10,000 per sq. yard in just a couple of months in Vizag,” says DBR Murthy, a real estate agent. Parts of Hyderabad where land prices may be adversely affected include areas like Hayathnagar, Dilsukhnagar, ECIL etc. where it is believed there is a high proportion of Andhrite population.
In Hayathnagar, where land was around Rs 6,000 per sq yard has now come down to Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per sq yard, and wary buyers are careful in investing in land here. This also applies for areas beyond Ramoji Film City, Timmapur near Shamshabad and Shameerpet, where the prices have not gone up but remained steady. Suggesting an alternative to investing in land, Mayank B, a software employee, says, “Investing in land right now ,with fluctuating prices will be a high risk. Instead, it is better to invest in gold.”
However, some industry watchers like Vishwanadha Manohar feel that this could only be a temporary phenomenon. “In the long run, the prices would remain steady. Telangana is one of the factors. But the primary reason is that prices have gone beyond the margins of reason and a slowdown is necessary.”
Others like Nikhil Trivedi, a realtor from Shameerpet, are more optimistic, ” The real estate growth has become oblivious to such issues. IT employees, who constitute a majority of our clientele is hardly disturbed by it.” While the debate continues, investors eagerly await a clearer picture.
Courtesy: hyderabadtimes