Real estate stares at bleak future post-pandemic

HYDERABAD:   One of the sectors that has suffered a massive hit due to Covid- 19 lockdown is real estate. Hyderabad is one of the leading cities in the country with the largest office space after Bengaluru. According to a recent report by Savills India, leasing out office space is likely to slow down in Q2-Q3 this year due to tenants reprogramming their office needs across the country.

Realtors and builders in Telangana are also worried over the fact that the labourers, who are currently stranded in cities and construction camps, may rush back to their native villages once the lockdown is lifted, leaving unfinished construction work to the mercy of the elements.

According to the Savills India research, apart from the slowdown in leasing out the office space, the office market would see moderate to strong recovery in 2021, apart from a temporary pause in fresh office supply and high risk to co-working coproviders with large exposure to leases and rolling monthly contracts. However, the bigger question is whether the postpandemic world wants more digital and less physical workplaces? Over 69 per cent of people who participated in the Savill’s live poll said yes. 

‘Come up with aggressive strategies’

Speaking to Express, V Rajashekhar Reddy, general secretary of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India, Hyderabad, said, “Another additional worry is our labour force, most of which are migrants.” He said. “Though we have provided them with camps to live in, food and other essential needs to cope with the lockdown.” He added, “It is human nature to be scared and want to be with one’s family. Given this, we are expecting that the mome n t t h e lockdown is lifted, the migrant labourers will rush home and stay there for a long time. This will definitely affect the construction work that has been put on hold.” He further said, “The government will have to come up with aggressive reform strategies to help industries get back on track, depending on the economic condition once the pandemic ends.”

Purchasing power
Experts are also predicting that due to loss of business and wages during the lockdown period, the purchasing power of people interested in investing in real estate would diminish leading to an adverse effect on the industry.

INCOMPLETE CONSTRUCTION WORK
Realtors and builders in Telangana are worried over the fact that the labourers, who are currently stranded in cities and construction camps, may rush back to their native villages once the lockdown is lifted, leaving unfinished construction work to the mercy of the elements