Hyderabad: Within minutes of getting off the eight-lane Outer Ring Road (ORR) at Exit 2, the landscape of Greater Hyderabad changes dramatically. The skyline is flatter, the roads are narrow and dusty, streets have scarce lighting, and shops and eateries are limited to just a handful. What’s in abundance, though, are hoardings of upcoming residential projects, sights of under-construction ventures, and local offices of property brokers.And these are accompanied by tempting offers: “Pay nothing till completion.” “20% now, 20% annually.” “Zero GST.”This view remains almost unchanged as one drives from Kollur towards Patancheru, taking detours to stop at Mokila (northwest) and Tellapur (southwest) on the way. Collectively, the belt is branded as the city’s thriving ‘budget housing’ hub by local realtors — not too far from Hyderabad’s exorbitant west.At first glance, the prices do appear cheaper.Unlike homes in the core IT corridor that come with price tags upwards of Rs 10,000 per square foot (sft), Kollur offers flats at Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 (avg) per sft. There are multiple high-rises screaming “available at Rs 90 lakh” in Tellapur and Patancheru too. Even Mokila has cheap options.Surge in costsBut a closer look at these figures reveals that they have undergone a sudden surge: of 60% to 100% in the last five years. Also, in Kollur — the most aggressively marketed realty destination — villa projects, which comprise a chunk of its inventory, come with a different rate card altogether. Developers here are seen quoting anywhere between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 5 crore for a home in a gated community.That most of these projects stand in the middle of nowhere is another story.Even sales executives have no convincing answers to offer when asked about basic amenities. “We have many international schools coming up within a five-km radius. Yes, the roads are only 30 feet now, but there are plans to make them 100 feet eventually. Some internal roads will be widened up to 40 feet,” said an executive at a project in Velimela — the hotspot for villas between Kollur and Tellapur — that has nothing more than a couple of mom-and-pop stores around it. Handover, he said, will start three years from now.Further ahead, standing off a dirt road, the salesperson at another big-ticket villa project claimed it was a favoured location “among celebrities.” The price: Rs 4.5 crore upwards. But ask him where the closest hospital is and he said: “Right now it is about 20 km from here (in Gachibowli), but I am sure that will change soon.” He admitted that all social amenities — restaurants, theatres, etc. — are also equally far at the moment.Basic amenities missingA huddle of new homebuyers spotted outside a freshly built gated community said they were waiting for civic officials to come and survey their project for a water connection. Right now, they are solely dependent on tankers. “We need street lights too, as the area gets dark post sunset,” said one of them. Every home there is over Rs 3 crore.Realtors raise two key concerns about this “unusual pace of growth”: residential oversupply in this belt and the sudden sharp surge in costs.“Almost all new projects seem to be restricted to the western, northwestern and southwestern sides of Hyderabad. It’s uncertain how much of this supply the city can sustain,” said Aju Thomas, president of realty services firm Trinity Partners. Bothered by the spiralling prices, he added that developers appear to be “targeting only the 0.5% to 1% of the city’s population with deep pockets.”Fear of stagnationThe abundance of schemes — including illegal pre-launch offers — rolled out by construction firms here is also worrisome, say realtors. “This indicates a lack of funds and could eventually lead to projects being stalled midway. It will severely hurt buyers’ sentiments in the long run,” said a senior real estate consultant.‘Will flourish in 3 years’While developers acknowledge such fears and urge customers to do their due diligence before investing their money in any project, they are also certain of these “far west” locations living up to their promise.“The prices here are pure economics — given the FSI component, cost of construction, etc. — and not hype or speculation,” said M Nanda Kishore, managing director of Ramky Estates and Farms Ltd, which has a presence in this belt. “It is common to see social infrastructure grow once more people start living in a place. By that logic, in the next three years, pockets like Tellapur and Kollur will flourish. Also, public transport is not west Hyderabad’s strength. Everybody here relies on private vehicles, so that isn’t a deterrent,” he added, using Nallagandla as an example — once a fledgling suburb that’s now counted among the poshest residential areas of the city.
