Even as realtors are assessing how the industry has fared in Hyderabad, majority of them are optimistic about growth in the next quarter. To provide a better perspective, Dinesh Kumar, senior vice-president-sales, 99 acres, speaks to Express about the real estate scenario in Hyderabad.
Excerpts:
How would you assess the real estate progress in Hyderabad in the first quarter?
In Hyderabad, we are seeing some kind of positive movement and there has been a price stabilization. I feel there will be a few new launches coming up in this quarter. Builders from outside the city have launched some projects and some off-take has happened for those projects as well.
What about the prospects for the second quarter?
T
he second quarter at the start looks pretty decent. All though the number of launches that we had previously seen has reduced considerably, a little more positive movement is being witnessed in the market. I feel that going forward, there could be some traction coming in from the NRI market as well. So I feel the next couple of quarters, including this quarter should be positive. There will definitely be some spurt in the NRI market.
What do you feel are the challenges that we need to address for us to further enhance the real estate industry in Telangana?
In Hyderabad, obviously the political scenario was one of the biggest challenges in the last few years. There has been some political stability now. Hiring has also seen some increase in Hyderabad and some of the companies are looking to expand into new commercial complexes and that has had a positive rub-off on the real estate industry. The political challenge was the biggest challenge facing the state but that has stabilised now and it is a positive sign.
Are you pleased with the initiatives that the state government has taken so far to boost the sector?
Obviously, I feel this government has to take some proactive measures because the erstwhile AP government was the one of the most proactive governments as there was a lot of flexibility and single-window clearances were there for real estate transactions. I think these have to be again reiterated to the builders. Infrastructure is already there in the city but I think the ability to attract more commerce is the biggest key to getting Hyderabad back to its original form.