Bet, it’s the time for rich pickings, you won’t fall flat

Since investment in real estate fetched more profits than interest on bank deposits, speculators and fly-by-night operators rushed to cash in on the demand, expecting quick and easy profits.

Even in Pune, grocers, hoteliers and garment producers with no background or commitment to real estate, jumped into the fray.

Today, all builders and realtors agree that it was an “artificial boom.” Kumar Gera of Gera Constructions says that approximately 3,000 to 4,000 completed flats are lying unsold in Pune today. “Shops were selling at Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 per sq ft during the boom. Today their rates have dropped by 15 to 20 per cent. Rates for homes that were selling at Rs 2,000 to 4,000 have dropped by 20 to 30 per cent,” he says.

“Kondhwa is the worst affected,” says prominent builder Laxman Karia. “Flats which were selling at Rs 1,700 to 1,800 are today unsold at even Rs 800 to 900 per sq ft.”

A land dealer in Baner, B Pathan, admits that he has sold no plots for more than a year. “There is no dearth of land in Pune,” he says. “But I turn away my customers because this is not the right time to sell. Land in Baner is fetching only Rs 300 per sq ft and Rs 200 per sq ft beyond Baner.”

Builders admit that they have put some projects on hold, either because they have no bookings or no money to complete them on time. For example, half the flats in Viman Nagar are lying unsold or vacant, says Karia.

But Asia’s fastest growing suburb, Kothrud, has the maximum number of construction projects today.

The industrial areas of Pimpri-Chinchwad and Bhosari saw only a marginal price rise during the boom, rates there are stable at Rs 600 to 900 per sq ft, about Rs 100 less than the boom rates. “But these flats offer no fancy interiors or comforts other than basic facilities like MSEB and cable connections,” says Ravi Arora of Arora Paljee’s Real Estate.

an we identify property buyers in Pune today? Yes. Today’s buyers are actual users, not investors. “They are those in genuine need of housing,” says K P Baney, president of the Promoters’ and Builders’ Association Pune (PBAB). “Speculators are no longer interested in real estate, which is fortunate, because it will help to stabilise rates.”

Real estate has moved from being a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, and the buyer is the king. He has a wide range to choose from and the opportunity to cut the best possible deal.

Koregaon Park, Camp, Boat Club Road, Salunke Vihar, Kalyani Nagar, Aundh, Salisbury Park, Sopan Baug, Prabhat Road and Ganeshkhind are the upmarket localities he can choose from.

Boat Club area is today the premier choice for a swank address, especially after Holiday Inn and Le Meridien came up. Most MNC stores like Lee, Levis, Reebok and Nike have converged there. A luxury flat here is fetching Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500, says Gera. The upper-class buyer is selective, demanding value for his money. And builders are not letting him down. “Builders are cutting profits to provide more modern and aesthetic construction and interiors,” says Ramesh Advani of NuEra Realty. “More affordable housing is available in Deccan, Kothrud and Viman Nagar. In Dhankawdi a good two-bedroom flat will sell for about Rs seven lakh,” he says.