Slowdown fails to ease Chandigarh realty rates

Even as the real estate sector continues to take a drubbing in the wake of the global financial crisis, there has not been any significant moderation in the real estate prices in and around Chandigarh.

In the wake of the global financial crisis, there has not been any significant moderation in the real estate prices in and around Chandigarh.

In fact, a look at the property rates in this Union Territory suggests that residential property rates continue to move upwards despite a dip in the sales.

This can be gauged from the fact that while the rate of a flat is Rs 3,500-5,500 per sq feet, the plot rates are around Rs 60,000 per sq yards.

According to property analysts, the main reason for the overpriced real estate market is because no fresh supply of flats and construction have been coming through the Chandigarh Housing Board. Only two private residential projects are operational in Chandigarh — one is the Parsvnath’s Pride Asia, the other being Uppal’s Marble Arch.

Cashing in on Chandigarh’s real estate puzzle, realtors in peripheries of the city have not moderated their prices.

Most of the property dealers who spoke to Business Standard maintained that even though the sales of residential projects have come down by around 50-60 per cent, realtors are not keen on moderating the prices of the projects.

The dealers maintain that the realtors have almost doubled the commission from them, yet finding a right match for their projects remains a problem.

Paramjit Singh, a local property consultant, maintains that depending on locations, a few realtors have started offering discounts in the range of 5-10 per cent or even more on their projects. But no official announcement has been made in this regard.

Most of the dealers maintain that the main reason behind realtors not moderating their prices is the anticipition that it would be difficult for them to push up the prices once they are slashed.