Sluggish Demand, Seller Surplus
KD NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR, May 01: Real estate sector in Kashmir is facing a challenging period marked by sluggish demand.
Brokers and property developers are finding themselves in a predicament as they encounter a growing number of sellers but a dwindling pool of buyers.
As per the real estate firms, the percentage of the property buyers in Kashmir has been dwindling, which they cite as a reason for stress in other sectors.
“Real estate market is down in Kashmir right now. People don’t have enough money to invest in real estate. Very less turn to buy properties in the form of plots now,” said Zuhaib Ahmad Bhat, owner of Valley Real Estate.
He said the firms encounter an unusual situation as the number of sellers are more compared to the buyers.
“I will give you an example that today I received as many as 10 queries out of which six were sellers. People are now selling properties with a meager proportion willing to buy them,” Bhat said.
The sluggish demand in the real estate sector has also exerted downward pressure on property prices across various segments. “The rates of property has come down. For example, if a seller has a property worth Rs 1 crore, he gets customers with an offer of only Rs 70 lakhs. The purchasing power has come down for the last few months,” he said.
Nayeem Ahmad, another real estate agent, claimed the market has come down by more than 30 per cent.
“Several economic factors have contributed to the current state of the real estate market in Kashmir.Potential buyers, deterred by economic uncertainties and a cautious approach towards investments, are adopting a wait-and-see approach, leading to a mismatch in supply and demand,” he said.
The property developers hope for the revival in the sector. “Since it is the season of elections, we hope for the revival of the sector. The rates as well as the demand is likely to go up with the commencement in the near future,” Ahmad said—(KNO)
