Hyderabad ends negative streak in real estate: survey

In spite of impending bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the housing sentiment index (HSI) of Hyderabad has increased by 22% to 101 in the third quarter of the current financial year, according to a report by IIM Bangalore (IIM-B) and property portal Magicbricks.com.

The IIM-B and Magicbricks HSI is a sentiment index of the Indian real estate market that aims to capture buyer mood and serve as an indicator of real estate estate market performance. A score of 100 indicates neutrality, meaning people don't expect house prices to either increase or decrease.

Breaking a "largely negative streak" on account of the Telangana issue, the report stated, Hyderabad's HSI ended close to neutral. The report covered 10 cities, including Hyderabad, across the country.

As per the report, Noida topped the list of cities with a HSI of 129 witnessing 33% jump over the previous quarter. On the other hand, the sentiments were muted in Mumbai  with a HSI of 85. The aggregate HSI of all the 10 cities had increased to 117 in the third quarter from 93 in the previous quarter.

Properties in the Rs 20-40 lakh range were stated to be preferred with over 30% of buyers in this range. The report, however, pointed out that given the high construction costs, steady inflation, increasing bank loan rates and the looming elections, buyers were likely to use extreme caution before investing in property in the coming years.

Magicbricks business head, Sudhir Pai, said that it would take another 6-9 months for active interest in buying activity to rise as consumers expect prices to go up only after six months, post 2014 elections.