Telangana realtors oppose market value revision

Say move may hit realty hard which is already witnessing slump

Hyderabad: Will the State government’s proposed move to revise market values hit the real estate sector in Telangana, which is already witnessing a slump?

Builders and developers are apprehensive over the move, which became a topic of discussion after a recent review meeting by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with an eye on shoring up revenues. They fear that the revision of market values at this particular point of time could further slow down business, which has been going through a slump ever since elections were announced late last year. The State government’s policies are still unclear on different issues, builders feel, saying that considering all these factors, it might not be the right time to take up such exercises.

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The Chief Minister, during the meeting with officials from the Stamps and Registration Department and others on Thursday, instructed them to initiate measures for revising the market value of lands. He said land and property values across the State had increased drastically but the income from Stamps and Registrations did not increase accordingly. There was a disparity between market value and the actual sale price of the land or properties, he had said, suggesting that the market value had to be revised in a way to promote the real estate sector and boost the State government’s revenue.

Admitting that there was a provision to revise the market values every year, a member of CREDAI Hyderabad observed that this was not the right time to revise the values. The market has been very slow since the last six months and these announcements could further slow things, he said. Consumers would be forced to wait and watch as there would be uncertainty over the pricing. It has been six months since the State government came to power and now was the time to boost the investors’ confidence and take steps that could trigger a real estate boom in the State, he suggested.

The BRS government revised the registration charges in July 2021 from 6 per cent to 7.5 per cent after being in power for seven years. In February 2022, market values were revised but considering the escalating land values, there was no impact on transactions, a builder said.

Developers also point out that the current Congress government’s reported decision to scrap the Pharma City project, which would potentially have an impact on real estate in the region, had cast an adverse impact on transactions already. Consumers were apprehensive about the new locations proposed by the government and the time that could take for them to be developed. Talk of reorganisation of districts and lack of clarity on the government’s policies was also directly impacting the real estate sector, he said.

If the government was keen on increasing market value, it should explore possibilities of reducing the registration charges by 1 or 2 per cent. This would help in increasing transactions and sales volume, ensuring cash flow in the market and stabilising the State economy, he added.