HYDERABAD: Purchasing a flat or an independent house in Hyderabad has become a distant dream for middle-class buyers with the cost of a 2 BHK/ 3 BHK touching the roof. Believe it or not, the cost of a 2BHK within the city limits ranges between Rs 70 lakh and Rs 90 lakh. For a salaried employee, it is highly difficult to buy a house in this price bracket. When it comes to 3BHK, the cost is not less than Rs 1 crore in the prime areas.
Speaking to Express, CREDAI Telangana chairman Ch Ramachandra Reddy said despite the realty sector being stable, affordable housing has become a costly affair as prices have increased significantly post-pandemic.
“Land rates, registration charges, construction materials and labour costs and all components involved in making the final output of an apartment have increased after the pandemic. All these reasons have pushed flat rates across the State,” he said.
Need for govt intervention
Ramachandra Reddy added that earlier, the cost of 2BHK used to be less that Rs 50 lakh in key localities of the city and now it is difficult to find an apartment anywhere in the prime city for that price. “Government has to take some initiatives like reducing the construction materials and revising land and registration rates so that housing becomes affordable,” he said.
According to a city-based developer, before 2020, the cost used to be Rs 3,500 - Rs 4,000 per sq.ft depending on the locality. “However, today, it is unable to complete a project with less than Rs 6,000 per sq.ft and prices would drop only if the construction costs come down,” the developer said.
Considering the present market situation, if a buyer wants to purchase a 2BHK flat within a budget of Rs 50 lakh in Hyderabad, then they have to search in areas like Adibatla, Pedda Amberpet, Tukkuguda, Peerzadiguda on the outskirts of the city or towards Medchal side where the IT Park is coming up.
K Srinivas Rao, a prospective buyer, said that he scouted for a new flat for Rs 60 lakh in the Ameerpet-Kukatpally stretch and couldn’t find one. “To my surprise, owners are quoting Rs 50 lakh for 20-year-old apartments. Then I realised that housing costs have almost doubled in recent times,” he said.
Already many reports stated that there is always a high demand for housing units which are around Rs 50 lakh. According to Knight Frank, the share of the residential market in the price bracket of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore constitutes 47 per cent of the total home sales in the city.