After Telangana: Decoding The Present, Past And Future Of Hyderabad Realty

The battle for the formation of Telangana that had its roots in 1969 finally ended in 2013, when the Centre decided to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, giving birth to India's 29th state. During this period, Andhra, now called Seemandhra, witnessed a grim civil unrest that resulted into its capital, Hyderbad, losing out to its peer when one looks at the real estate growth.

PropGuide looks at the real picture of the city's real estate after Andhra bifurcation.

The present

Hyderabad, also known as Cyber city, has been home to the information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITes) industry. Many pharmaceutical and biotech also have offices here. However, real estate market in Hyderabad had been subdued in the past five years, as the Telangana agitation reached its peak. Even after the division, growth did pick up, owing to an overall sluggish real estate sentiment across India. When compared to Bengaluru, Chennai or Pune, other key IT hubs, property prices in Hyderbad are much less.

While expensive areas in Bengaluru may cost you as much as Rs 40,000 per sq ft on an average and Rs 15,000 in Chennai, in Hyderabad it may come for Rs 8,000 per sq ft. Property prices in Jubilee Hills have been going down by eight-nine per cent, along with the other expensive areas. Homes in areas such as Kompally and Chandannagr can be snagged at as low as Rs 2,500 per sq ft. According to a PropTiger report, sales of residential properties in Hyderabad dropped 45 per cent in 2014.

However, this is a good opportunity for middle-income home buyers to invest here. With an end to the Telangana battle and a pickup in overall growth sentiment, property prices may soon go up.

The future

The political uncertainty in the state had left many real estate projects unfinished. A number of announced projects were also cancelled a few years back. However, the interest of real estate developers in Hyderabad has not waned. In a property show organised by the Telangana state government, as many as 150 developers showcased their projects with units costing between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 2 crore.

A lot also hinges on the growth of corporate investments in the city when talks about future residential growth. Along with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, too, may benefit from an emerging e-commerce boom. Amazon India is among the companies that have announced its plans to expand in the city, after global internet giant Google and banking major H. If these plans go ahead, commercial as well as residential properties will get the much-needed push towards growth. Earlier, a number of companies moved out the city due to the political uncertainty.

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities.)