HUDA wins over private realtors in Panipat

The areas developed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in Panipat continue to enjoy confidence of the masses, even as slowdown in the area’s real estate sector is taking its toll on the projects being developed by private players.

According to experts, the HUDA areas are still catching the fancy of buyers whereas the private developers are looking for prospective buyers.

Local property dealers of Panipat have informed that transactions for areas developed by private builders have virtually come to a standstill and it is only the HUDA areas that are still doing businesses.

According to Mahinder Arora of A to Z Properties in Panipat, HUDA plots are still enjoying better premium than the ones being developed by private realtors, who are caught in an awkward situation.

While the prices of plots developed by private players vary from Rs 5,000-9,000 per sq yard, plots in the HUDA area are still commanding prices upwards of Rs 10,000 per sq yard.

The main reason behind HUDA areas faring well vis-à-vis private projects is because of the advantage they possess in terms of location. Majority of the areas developed by HUDA are centrally located and well equipped with infrastructure; whereas the colonies developed by private builders mostly lie on the outskirts and score much less on infrastructure facilities.

Panipat witnessed a spurt in real estate activities since 2005 when a slew of residential projects for the city were announced with a majority of them along the GT road. Ansal, TDI, Eldeco and Parsvnath were among the key developers that announced projects for Panipat.

According to dealers, the private builders mainly banked on the investors to help their sales but now with the investors disappearing from the market and the end users apprehensive about private projects, sales of private projects have taken a hit.

As a result, most of the private builders have either stalled their construction or have attuned pace of their construction.

The local property dealers maintain that to lend spurt to their sales, unofficially the private developers have started making correction in the prices as they are prepared to offer discounts in the range of 20-30 per cent to the end users.