Hyderabad builders are hoping for a fresh start in the coming new year. This enthusiasm is due to the likely bailout plans (to be announced) by the Government for realty sector on December 8, 2008 .  Real Estate has been going through tough times for the last six months. The AP Builders Forum and Greater Hyderabad Builders Federation are hopeful that the Manmohan Singh government will take steps to bail out the realty sector, which provides employment to thousands of people across the country. Among the people-friendly measures being contemplated by the Centre in the run-up to the polls are a reduction of petroleum prices and a further cut in home loan interest rates. This, in turn, will be a big boon for the realty sector. The realty majors are also expecting the government to reschedule loans, which were taken for the completion of the ongoing projects.

“The New Year will be positive for the realty sector since the government will adopt people-friendly policies in election years,” said C. Sekhar Reddy, president of the AP Builders Forum. “The package, which is expected from the government is set to be a boon for the realty sector, which is now facing several challenges,” he adds. Despite facing difficult times, city based realtors have not stopped the on-going constructions hoping that the buyers would come forward to purchase properties after a while. Most of them are now focusing on construction rather than marketing since the cost of steel and other building materials have come down significantly.

“People with vested interests tried in vain to disturb the market by saying property prices will fall down further but such massive corrections are not possible since the rates of properties are fixed on the basis of land value and construction cost,” said M. Prem Kumar, organising secretary of the Greater Hyderabad Builders Federation. He cautioned that people who deferred investment plans might have to spend more to purchase flats in the future. “We request potential buyers not to fall for such campaigns,” he added. The builders are now concentrating on affordable housing to cater to middle-income groups. Earlier, the realtors used to construct big flats ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft as IT professionals preferred spacious homes. With the slowdown in IT and aviation sectors, they have now started constructing smaller flats.

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