Home loan demand down in suburbs

Home loan rates alone do not affect activities in the real estate sector; the performance of the stock market also has a direct bearing on property prices.

So, while high home loan rates have hit the real estate sector in the past one year, properties in tony areas like south Delhi and south Mumbai have appreciated by up to 85% during this period. In the last six months alone, rates here have gone up by 15% to 47%.

Besides increased demand in the posh areas during the stock market boom, the limited supply also contributed to the high price.

During the period of stock market boom till around two months ago, there was a rush of cash-rich investors willing to buy houses for over Rs 5 crore. Though the subsequent market crash has led to decreased demand for ultra-delux apartments, limited supplies and absence of distress sellers have meant that prices continue to rise.

Said Amit Bhagat, head of ICICI Properties, in the past two months, hardly any deal has taken place in posh areas in the price range of over Rs 3 crore. Yet, no correction in prices in this segment is expected because of limited supply, he added.

The story is different in the suburbs and small cities. Property prices in the suburbs, particularly NCR, and places like Chandigarh and Jaipur, where construction activity is in full swing, have either stagnated or declined by 10 to 20%.

By contrast, in the tony Golf Links, Jor Bagh and Sunder Nagar areas of the capital, prices of apartments have gone up by 85% to Rs 51,000 per sq feet in the last one year.

The price of a 2000 sq ft three-bedroom apartment here is a mindboggling Rs 10 crore. The same is true in Chanakyapuri, where prices appreciated by 82% during this period. In the last six months, however, the appreciation has been more modest — around 17%. But in the same period, in Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh, apartment values have increased by 47% to Rs 23,500 per sq ft.

Likewise, prices in posh areas of Mumbai, like Altamount Road, Napeansy Road, Nariman Point and Churchgate, have gone up by 24%. In the last three months itself, rates have increased by 17%.

The story repeats itself in Bangalore as well, where the capital value of upmarket areas like Brunton Road and Langford Road Town went up by 11% in last six months, whereas prices in less posh areas rose in the range of 2% to 6%.

In the last five years, property prices in the posh area in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Banglore increased by three to five times. In Chanakyapuri, Golf Links and Jor Bagh, land was available for Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh around five years back. But today, it is quoting at over Rs 6.50 lakh per sq yard.

Aditi Vijayakar, head of residential research of global consultancy firm, Cushman and Wakefield, said there is virtually no land available in these areas. Therefore, hardly any construction activity is taking place. The only construction activity is that of large villas being converted into apartments. This had further flared up demand during the stock market boom period.
Home loan demand down in suburbs-India Business-Business-The Times of India