With the Telangana government promising a slew of initiatives to revive the real estate industry, many of them to materialise more than one year after formation of the new state. To provide a better perspective, M Vijay Sai, secretary general, Telangana Real Estate Developers Association (TREDA) speaks to Express about the real estate development in Hyderabad.
Excerpts:
How would you assess the current real estate scenario in Hyderabad?
The market is now reviving, we are expecting a bright future. There have been signs of recovery and with the new initiatives like improving city roads by constructing fly-overs and expressways, I think the coming months will boost the real estate sector.
What about the residential sector? It has been in a shambles since 2009.
The residential sector is slowly getting back on track. I feel the prices will definitely start rising. The developers have been facing a lot of problems in the last three to four years, so once the market revives and with the measures taken by the government, we can witness a hike in prices.
The construction industry is in crisis in Telangana, what needs to be done to deal with the issue?
This should be tackled by the Union government. Priority should be given to complete the ongoing projects. They should see if proper funding is available to them, so that the developer completes the project and hands over to the buyer. All the banks coming to Hyderabad have been non-cooperative. They should now understand that the market is growing and support builders so that they can complete the project.
Do you think Hyderabad Metro Rail will have an impact on the city’s real estate industry?
100 per cent. Whenever Metro rail is going to be operational, it will improve all markets along the metro sector. People currently prefer to stay in Kukatpally due to its proximity to the IT-sector and may be hesitant to stay in Uppal due to connectivity issues. If the connectivity is good, they wouldn’t mind staying in Uppal, as cost of living is less.
What are the challenges which you continue to face as developers?
The prices must increase, only then will builders launch projects. We requested the government for the facility of payment of builder permission fee in instalments, so that more builders will take up these projects.
What should be done by the government to boost the sector in Hyderabad?
. They should not increase registration charges for at least another one year. We are just beginning to see the revival of the market.