Hydrabad City realtors in a tizzy

11 December 2009, 05:57am IST


HYDERABAD: Hyderabad's real estate sector was in a
state of shock on Thursday, just hours after the Centre
conceded to the demand for a separate
Telangana state. Speculating that the move would further
 dampen the already crippled industry, realtors were seen
 making their own calculations about the future of their
business in the city. Apart from a few optimistic voices,
most realtors opined that the T decision would spell doom
for real estate in Hyderabad and result in a steep fall in
 the property value.

"We will go back at least by five years in terms of growth,"
said Khaja Asif Ahmed of Stellar Project Management Consultant,
adding, "It will take at least two to three years for
the political unrest to settle and till then no investor
 from outside would put his money here." According to his
prediction, the industry, which is still battling the recession ghost,
is set to hit a new low over the next few months.

City realtors say that Hyderabad, as part of Telangana, would
also disrupt the flow of sentiment-driven investments.
"So far people from all over the state invested in Hyderabad
 because of its status as the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
But if it becomes part of Telangana, people would think
twice before picking up property here," said a Kukatpally-based
 realtor Madhusudan admitting that it would indeed be a long haul
 before the sector gains momentum. "Until a clear separation takes
place, there will be no new investments," Madhusudan said.

A common sentiment that seemed to be riding high among most players
from the sector was that of ‘protecting Hyderabad' from the turmoil
by declaring it as the joint capital of two states. "Our fear of
stagnation in transactions (purchases) can be best addressed through
this move. That way the value of properties in the city would remain
unaffected and investors too would feel secure," said Ashwin Rao, director,
 Primus Developers. Though Rao is one among the few optimistic builders
who feel that the industry would be back on track, only after an initial
glitch of a few months, he says that the common capital stand would be
ideal to arrest the slump in the  realty business.

Source:TOI HYD