Hyderabad top investment destination in Telangana real estate

Ahead of the Assembly elections in Telangana, which are scheduled on December 7, Hyderabad is witnessing a sharp rise in land prices — the jump seen in the per-acre prices is almost three times. After the polls, residential prices are likely to increase by 10-15% and commercial rentals by 20-25% over the next 12 months, according to real estate developers in the state. They say land prices have gone up by almost 20% in the last one year while the residential apartment space witnessed an escalation in prices of as much as 30%. “The trigger to the growth is the investor-friendly policies and infrastructure development initiatives of the Telangana government. Companies are keen to expand operations here and the local and national-level talent is also considering Hyderabad as a location to migrate to and reside in,” P Ravinder Rao, president, Telangana Real Estate Developers Association (TREDA), said. Interestingly, Hyderabad has emerged as the top investment destination in the real estate sector, attracting $793 million, ahead of $ 694 million secured by Bengaluru, according to a KPMG report. “Even while there is an increase of over 25% in the cost of construction in the last two years, a lot of investors have found stability here, thus liquidating all the unsold stock. About 33 million sq ft in the commercial sector has been added in the last 4-5 years,” R Chalapathi Rao, executive vice-president, TREDA, said. “The land prices on Hyderabad’s outskirts which used to be Rs 1 crore per acre are now around Rs 3 crore per acre,” he said, adding that Hyderabad has seen only a gradual rise in prices and not a spectacular growth in the last few years.“Supportive government policies and strong political stability after the state’s bifurcation in 2014 have worked in favour of this once-slow real estate market. The city now offers the lowest office rentals compared with top markets in south India including Chennai and Bengaluru,” said Mayank Saksena, managing director, land & head, south India, Anarock Property Consultants.