Bhubaneswar, July 12: If you are looking to buy a house here, you will have to shell out more money than what you did last December. Property in your city has become pricey, recording the steepest rise across the country in the quarter ending March.
According to the report of the National Housing Bank (NHB), Bhubaneswar has emerged at the top among 10 cities that saw a maximum rise in prices of residential properties in the financial quarter that ended in March compared to the previous quarter.
The NHB is a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) set up to operate as a principal agency to promote housing finance institutions both at local and regional levels. It undertakes quarterly survey of the properties across the country and analyses the price movement under Residex (Housing Price Index).
In its first quarter report, the NHB stated that prices of residential properties showed an upward trend in 27 cities. The report had covered 49 cities to track the upward movements of prices in the previous quarter. Bhubaneswar has been placed at the top with a rise of 12 per cent in prices. At Vishakhapatnam and Raipur prices grew by 11 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively. Kanpur held the fourth position at 8 per cent followed by Gurgaon (6 per cent), Chandigarh (6 per cent), Coimbatore (4 per cent), Mumbai (4 per cent) and Vadodara (4 per cent).
However, this hefty percentage rise in property price doesn't indicate that Bhubaneswar prices have zipped past Mumbai, where the base rates are already phenomenal.
Real estate experts believed that the rise in the price of residential property here could be attributed to its increasing popularity, especially after it won the smart city challenge last year. Moreover, the city is alluring investors because of its availability of land bank.
"Bhubaneswar is a city in the making, while other cities have already been made over the years. There is less or no land bank in most of the old cities of the country. But, the case is different with Bhubaneswar," said real estate developer Sangram Nayak.
"It still has a lot of land bank, which is one of the major reasons for investors, who are more interested in it. The smart city project is another reason for the rise," Nayak added.
Besides, the state government's recent approach to execute affordable housing project in public-private partnership mode in the city is another reason for increase in the prices of residential properties. "The prices increase with the demand and scope of development of such projects. In these two sector, Bhuba-neswar is now favourite for major investors," said Ritesh Baliarsingh, another real estate developer.
According to a major property listing website, the price for a square yard of land is Rs 9,180 at Botanda, Rs 4,208 at Janla, Rs 14,152 at Patia and Rs 6,120 at Patrapada. Similarly, for apartments, it is Rs 2,252 per square feet at Andharua, Rs 2,635 at Hanspal, Rs 4,420 at Kalinganagar, Rs 4,292 at Khandagiri, and Rs 3,528 at Patia.
"It will become difficult for a middle class person to afford a house in a city if the price rise continues. The houses build by the government itself is priced at a minimum of Rs 25 lakh, which is the saving of ones entire life. Getting the same from the private player will be a dream soon. I hope the government will soon include us in the affordable housing category and provide us the same," said Damana resident Shanti Rath, a schoolteacher.
