Friday, February 24, 2006

Realty zooms on a Fab-ulous ride

The real estate cavalcade rolls on. It began with information technology and kept gathering momentum with every new announcement. In came Biotechnology Park, Knowledge Park, Hardware Park, Apparel Park, sporting stadia and promise for a swank new Airport and wide ring roads. And before the last of the boosters could fizzle out, came the announcement on Hyderabad being chosen as host for the multi-crore Fab City.

The last few months have indeed provided an impetus to a flourishing real estate activity in the city and suburbs. Some of the much publicised projects that promise to change the way the city appears have began taking a final shape and this pushed the property prices a notch higher. No doubt Hyderabad figures prominently when experts sit to compile a list of the most favoured destinations for property related investments.

The hot spots


The recent moves have also been successful in spreading out the gamut of hot spots for buying property. Till recently, everyone appeared to be taking the road to Gachibowli, Madhapur and Kondapur where the IT sector is firmly entrenching itself but now the choice has been further widened.

The Fab City, envisaged at Rs.13,500 crores for manufacture of semi-conductors, has realtors and prospective investors poring over every bit of available nugget on Maheshwaram mandal. The mega project expected to provide around 10,000 jobs in both skilled and semi-skilled category is expected to come up on a 1,200-acre site at Tukkuguda close to the upcoming international airport at Shamshabad, says Rishi Kumar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Rishi Jaideep Estates.

The Government's reiterations on the Outer Ring Road have made even the sceptics line up for a slice of land around the city. Prospective investors, particularly the NRI segment, is said to be keenly watching these periphery areas with a preference to pick land in acres than in plotted areas of square yards. "The enquiries on the Internet from NRI software professionals have gone up considerably in the last couple of months," says a realtor.

Shamshabad, despite its pitfalls in terms of increasing complaints on bogus registrations and zoning regulations, continues to attract property seekers while Tukkuguda and its adjoining areas in Maheshwaram have appeared on the realtor's radar with a big bleep.

The land prices at Shamshabad and surrounding areas have gone up from an initial start of Rs.400 per square yard two years ago and now stand anywhere between Rs.2,000 and Rs.3,000 per square yard. "These prices are up for another round of escalation in the coming months and after that they will keep climbing according to the progress of work at the International Airport," says a dealer.

As the place is expected to buzz with unprecedented activity once the airport is commissioned, buyers looking to reap benefits a few years down the line are not disinclined to invest here. The demand for housing facility here is expected to be massive since those associated with the airport, staff of airlines and the star hotels and commercial spaces planned here will be looking for accommodation in the vicinities.

The Government pronouncements on dotting the area with wide roads, ensuring appropriate green patches and taking up planned development too is described as one of the encouraging factors. The present city heart is choking with traffic and pollution and a promise of planned expanse is lapped up by first generation NRIs and the scores of software professionals coming here from other cities, it is pointed out.

In real fast lane


Though the immediate vicinities of the proposed Fab City site were unexploited till recently, the announcement was met with hectic dealings.

The prices have shot up overnight and as a realtor reels out from his personal experience, many locals who entered into agreements to sell their properties have backed out. "In two months time, the price has risen by around Rs.20 lakhs per acre. I should have closed the deal earlier," he rues.

Contrary to common perception, the price rise has not remained restricted to the hot spots alone. An example in case is the stretch from Bowenpally to Kompally that has registered a price growth without much hype or publicity. A dealer who sold plots at Medchal for Rs.400 per square yard says the same plots are now fetching a price of Rs.1,200 upwards. "On more prime spots on this stretch, the price is going beyond Rs.3,000," he reveals.

Of late, there have been some speculations on the land prices crashing shortly but realtors do not appear to be unduly perturbed over it. "These are mere speculations which are aimed at braking the growth," brushes aside one. However, some places that registered an unscientific rise in the prices could be affected a bit. "There could be some stagnation at places where agents and brokers caused artificial demand," he says.

A major chunk of those going around in search of avenues to pick land is said to comprise NRIs, software professionals and those from other cities. A leading developer says: "I will say only 20 per cent of investors are local while the rest are from outside."

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