Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) venture to allot 6,190 low-cost housing units and Karnataka Housing Board’s (KHB) initiative to construct 3,000 flats in and around the city are likely to affect the realty sector in the city.
Infrastructure expert Dr Ashwin Mahesh said, “As the BDA and the KHB acquire land at a lower price, the cost of housing units will naturally be lower and private developers cannot sell flats at the cost at which the BDA and the KHB sell their units. Their (private developers’) business is likely to be affected. It is said that the BDA’s allotments have benefited the middlemen and speculators at the cost of farmers and private developers, and it is not likely to change this time as well. Many plots allotted by the BDA continue to remain vacant.”
Low-cost units at half the cost?
Housing consultant Prashanth Sambargi said, “According to the advertisement issued by the BDA, it is planning to allot three-bedroom houses at `23 lakh and `27 lakh, whereas private developers charge at least `50 lakh for a three-bedroom house in the city. Moreover, people who buy flats from government agencies can be secure as they will not face any title disputes. Therefore, most of the people would prefer to buy flats from the BDA even if the quality of construction would not be as good as that of private developers.”
Sambargi said Bangalore Residential Report, published by a private realty agency, showed 20,600 housing units were consumed in the city in 2011 and around 55,000 housing units were still available.
On an average, Bangalore consumed around 25,000 housing units annually and a majority of them were low-cost units. If more than 9,000 units were made available in the market by government agencies, private builders would be greatly affected, he said.
Houses to benefit people, says BDA
BDA Commissioner T Sham Bhatt, said, “If we are providing housing units at lower prices we should be happy about it as it will benefit the people.”
The BDA has invited applications for allotting 4,388 single-bedroom flats, 1,170 two-bedroom flats and 632 three-bedroom flats at different places in the city and will issue applications from March 25. The BDA has reserved 2,194 single-bedroom flats from the total 4,388 units under different categories. The KHB has proposed to construct over 3,000 low-cost housing units in Suryanagar II Phase, Yelahanka, Devenahalli and Kengeri.