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More indian high profile realtors eye in hyderabad lands

HYDERABAD: It's raining developers in the city's realty sector. Big ticket realtors from across India are now streaming into Hyderabad to set shop, in what they say is the country's "most affordable" metropolitan city, as far as land prices are concerned. On the cards are residential, commercial as well as office spaces especially along the newly-constructed Outer Ring Road (ORR). Among those headed to the city include Prestige Group, Parsvanath Developers Ltd, Godrej Properties and Tata Housing Development Corporation Ltd. Bangalore-based Puravankara Projects Ltd is also believed to be considering Hyderabad as its next destination.

Reason for this mad rush? An over-supply of land available at a reasonable price. And here's the economics of the trend: Land in Hyderabad is currently cheaper than even tier II cities such as Pune, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Kochi. As per rough market estimates, a flat in Kondapur being sold at a modest Rs 25-30 lakh is priced at anywhere between Rs 35-40 lakh in Pune. "This reflects the price of the land too," said an industry expert reiterating the steep drop in realty rates over the last few months. He added, "As Hyderabad is leaping years ahead of any other tier-two city in development, it has become an obvious choice for builders."

Predictably then, sources claim that most of these 'outsider' groups are scouting for multiple plots in the city as they plan to expand their base here over the next few years. Prestige Group, for instance, that had initially started work only on its mall at Kukatpally has now kicked off its Rs 140-crore residential project along the ORR too. And, senior officials of the firm say, that the company would come up with more such ventures in future. "The Hyderabad market has great potential which has remained untapped for so long. We are keen on expanding our business in the city," said Swaroop Anish, senior vice-president of the Bangalore-based Prestige Group. In the city recently to flag off the company's "Royal Woods" housing project Anish said that the local market, despite being at its worst now, is a hotspot for investment. "The prices are very attractive for both developers and customers," he added.

For the same reason the Godrej group, after having travelled through the country, from Bangalore to Kolkata, Gurgaon, Ahmedabad and Chennai, is now concentrating on Hyderabad. In fact, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, during his recent visit to the city had said that the realty wing of the company was planning to set up 7.5 million sqft of residential-cum-commercial ventures at Patancheru and Moosapet. The firm is believed to have already acquired some property for a housing project and are aggressively looking for more.

Ditto Tata Housing and Puravankara. Both the groups are exploring options on the outskirts of Hyderabad and hope to make an entry very soon. When contacted Brotin Banerjee, managing director of the Mumbai- based Tata Housing said, "Hyderabad is definitely an important market for us and we are exploring opportunities to establish our presence there." He added, "The city offers a lot of opportunities for quality real estate projects."

Apart from these new entrants, those already in Hyderabad for sometime now, are also looking at expanding their ventures. The Mantri Group for instance, which already has a property in Gachibowli, is now planning to go all out to acquire more land to launch fresh projects. "Not only is the market very attractive, there is also a lot of promise for positive growth. The infrastructure, road connectivity is the best in the city," said Mitesh Kulkarni, vice-president for Andhra Pradesh. Source: TOI 3/10/10