If you are planning to rent a place to stay in any of the prime locations in the city, then according to real estate brokers, this is the right time to find one as prices are slightly on the lower side.
“Post-bifurcation, many hoped that property prices would spiral upwards as it did some years ago, but it is yet to pick up. In fact, the IT sector’s current slowdown has also resulted in rents slightly coming down,” said C. Shailendra, a resident of West Marredpally.
He added that the rent for two-bedroom apartments like his, earlier used to be about Rs. 25,000, but have come down to Rs. 20,000 or below now.
Mr. Shailendra stated that flats in prime areas are much sought after by IT professionals. S. Rakesh, a real estate agent, felt that the decrease in rentals was due to migration by people to their native places in anticipation of a new capital coming up in Andhra Pradesh. “You can now get a two-bedroom apartment in Begumpet for between Rs.12,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month. The same place would have cost almost Rs. 20,000 some years ago. Some of the population from the Andhra side is considering to be nearer to their homes,” he said.
Other real estate agents said that the rental in outskirt areas like Alwal has actually come down to about Rs. 3,000 for a two-bedroom house, which used to earlier cost more than Rs. 5,000. “Now you can get a three-bedroom house for a little more than that price.
In fact, even a small shop on the main road is now being rented out for Rs. 5,000 because there are no takers,” mentioned Narasimha Rao (name changed), a real estate agent.
Javed Hood, Chief Executive Officer, Babukhan Properties, also pointed out that the current ‘lull’ in the property market is even being felt near the IT sector, where many small offices are not being filled as there are no takers. “Though residential spaces are doing okay, many large showroom spaces are empty as of now.
However, given the State government’s efforts and the infrastructure in Hyderabad, I am hopeful that things will pick up soon,” he said.
However, posh and fully furnished apartments in the city in areas like Banjara Hills, Somajiguda and Raj Bhavan road continue to be sought after, said tenants. “Here the prices have remained the same, because such places have lot of offices, businesses around. I was paying Rs. 25,000 for a three-bedroom place when I was staying. After I vacated a few months, the owner had slightly increased the rent,” said R. Ravi, a private employee.
YOUNUS Y. LASANIA
