Forget the slump: Home sales in Hyderabad surge 67%; here's why

Home sales in Hyderabad have surged 67 percent with prices also witnessing an uptick as buyers flock to buy real estate with the cloud of uncertainty clearing after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. According to a note by Ashutosh Limaye, National Director – Research, JLL India, Hyderabad has seen the increase in sales during 12 months ended September compared with the same period a year ago. The prices have also appreciated 5-10 percent, higher than the sub-5 percent appreciation witnessed for many years. [caption id=“attachment_2578752” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] “This proves that buyers are no longer fence-sitters. As the city moved past the global financial crisis (GFC) and later, the formation of Telangana, developers are no longer holding back launches and buyers are also returning to the market,” he said in the note. In the 12 months up to September 2015, as many as 7,000 units were sold in the city compared with 4,200 in the year-ago period. “…Improved economic activity seen during the last six months has led to a better market sentiment. Corporates are also coming in as the political environment has improved. As the government goes all out to bring investments, heightened economic activity can be expected to further bolster the residential realty market,” Limaye has said in the note. The news comes even as the real estate sector in other major cities is witnessing a crippling slowdown in demand and offtake. This created a high inventory level, resulting in wide supply-demand mis-match pulling down the the prices. However, Hyderabad has been a different story. Years of political uncertainty surrounding the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh had put a drag on the real estate sector there. According to Limaye, the sales surge has encouraged developers to increase new launches. In the last three quarters alone, launches have picked up strongly – increasing by more than 1.5 times since last year, he has said. This too goes against the situation in other major cities. According to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield, in the entire 2015 new unit launches in Bangalore declined 62 percent, in Mumbai 37 percent and Delhi-NCR 14 percent due to a slump in buyers’ interest.