For all those who thought Hyderabad was a costly city to live in, the latest statistics signify otherwise.
The city is ranked second in India, among 15 considered, for declining real estate prices in the year 2011, with the Economic Survey 2011-12 report tabling a decline by 14% in residential property cost in the twin cities, while a separate survey by the National Housing Bank has put the reduction rate at 8% for the quarter Oct-Dec 2011, as compared to 2010.
“Yes, there has definitely been a drop in prices by 5-8% in Hyderabad.
But if one asks for the drop in real estate prices in Hyderabad for the year 2011, one has to look at it more as a necessity of investors to postpone their purchases due to the unstable political situation prevalent last year and absence of any major infrastructural developments, rather than just lack of demand.
Such factors did lead to a 20 per cent decline in volume of sales, which ultimately affected the pricing,” said P Prem Kumar, managing director of Doyen Constructions and president of the Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developer Association (APREDA), who added that even projects for commercial purposes have found less takers, with only half of the available 5 million sq ft of space in 2011, being actually sold off.
“Prices in main areas like Banjara Hills, Kondapur and Jubilee Hills etc. haven’t risen majorly over the past 10 years.
Instead, if one notices, it is outer areas like Shamshabad, Patencheruvu etc. where prices were inflated earlier, have suffered now due to lowered demand.” Statistics provided by the National Housing Bank report supports this claim, with prices declining by at least 10% in the North Zone region (Serilingampally, Patanncheruvu, Ramachandrapuram, Kukatpally) in Oct-Dec 2011, as compared with July- September 2011.
Prices in other zones, including the Old City, have come down only by 3-5%, as compared to the previous year.
