Luck has apparently been the nemesis of realty developers. Contrary to expectations that builders have a reason to cheer once the Telangana process gains momentum, gloom continues to linger around the fraternity.
“There is total stagnation in the market, perhaps because of the uncertainty. When Telangana agitation was at its peak, our hopes rose too. But nothing changed. I don’t find takers for my ready-to-occupy venture in a prime locality. Of the 80-odd flats, only a couple of them are sold,” says R.V. Swamy, vice-president of the Vijayawada chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI).
Price risePrices of vacant lands have skyrocketed, admit realtors. CREDAI is planning a two-day property show on January 11 and 12 to create awareness and motivate buyers before Sankranti festival.
The industry is trying hard to get the attention of potential buyers by offering them well-furnished flats with parking and other facilities but the latter largely remain unimpressed.
No takersEven while the Telangana cauldron boils, buyers seem to be adopting a ‘wait and watch’ approach as a majority of the builders are sitting on inventory that is only growing.
Some are facing problems of even funding their working capital requirements.
“The overall market is dull. Call it recession or the prolonged period of uncertainty, the buying sentiment is just not picking up. We can hope for good news only after the Telangana issue is settled once and for all,” says K. Rajendra, general secretary, CREDAI, Vijayawada.
NRIs who largely determine the climate of the market, says Mr. Rajendra, are also playing fence-sitters. They don’t want to take hasty decisions lest they may have to regret later, he says.
Unit selling prices in construction industry went up six months ago and it gave a ray of hope. But the happiness did not last long as a proportionate hike in construction cost followed.
“A lot of plotting was done on the city outskirts like Gannavaram and Gollapudi, but there were hardly any sales.
What is noteworthy is that small and medium-level projects are not happening at all. Only big deals are happening. A lot of distress sale has taken place due to desperation of the builders who had witnessed a prolonged lull and wanted to clear their existing inventories,” says Gadde Rajling, chairman of Greater Vijayawada Builders’ Association.
