HYDERABAD: With the real estate sector gaining momentum in Hyderabad, developers feel it is a matter of time before prices increase in the residential sector. In a freewheeling chat with Express, Ganesh Vasudevan, CEO, Indiaproperty.com provides a perspective about online real estate in India.
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What do you feel about the real estate prospects in Hyderabad’s residential sector?
Among all the southern metros, Hyderabad has the most advanced infrastructure development, and it’s a very attractively positioned. After the formation of Telangana, prices have not really gone up, so it is the most attractive investment destination today in the South. The price in Hyderabad is 30 per cent cheaper than in Chennai or Bengaluru and it’s only a matter of time before these prices get marked to market.
But since prices haven’t increased even after political stability, what’s the guarantee that things will pick up in the near future?
Well, the upsides from here are not any less compared to any other metro city in South India. Also, given the clarity and stability that has been achieved after bifurcation, the downsides from here are very limited.
What are the benefits of digital real estate system? Do you feel it is the way forward?
Absolutely. The entire process of marketing real estate has been made far more efficient because of online portals. We have created lot of innovative tools by which customers can evaluate everything by sitting in the comfort of their homes. Site-visits are almost getting outdated, to the point that you can take full tours of projects, take virtual tours of individual apartments, see the entire plan of the project, look at the furniture, real-time price updates, research online about the locality. For example, we only display projects where we have verified legal documentation so the customer is well aware before purchasing if it is a legal or illegal property.
What are the challenges that remain at large in the industry?
The biggest challenge from the developer’s perspective is about quick approvals. There are multiple places to go and get approvals which delays the launch of the project and adds on to the final cost. So a single-window approval system is the need of the hour. From a marketing perspective, the challenge is to bring in transparency and be up-front about what the customer wants. The industry needs professionalism to steer the sector in the right direction.
What about the government’s pet project Housing for all by 2022. Do you think it can be achieved?
It depends upon how well it is executed. It is not an unrealistic promise, but of-course there has to be a political will to back the execution. This along with the smart cities project will go a long way in taking us forward.