Hopes of investors dashed as market price of property falls in Rohtak

The prices of property have declined in the Rohtak area, making the property-owners as well as investors worried.

Especially those who had invested money in property before the recent elections to the state Assembly are a worried lot as their hopes for handsome returns have dashed.

Sources in the property market said that a number of investors had bought property before the Haryana Assembly elections, hoping that a Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be formed and the property prices would soar.

“The property rates in Rohtak had skyrocketed after the formation of the Congress government led by Hooda in 2005. A strong possibility of the formation of Hooda government was being expressed this time as well. Hence, many investors bought property, while several owners refused to sell their property, expecting to get higher prices after the elections,” observes Narender Sharma, a local property dealer.

He said the property prices, which recorded an upswing of 5 to 10 per cent before the elections, were now down by 10 to 15 per cent.

“Now, while the investors regret their decision to buy property at increased rates in hope of handsome returns, the owners who refused to sell their property in expectation of higher prices after the elections also regret as they missed the opportunity,” said Sharma.

He predicts that the slump may continue for another six months to one year.

Manoj Bahl, another real-estate adviser based in Rohtak, said the investors were expecting a substantial jump in the property prices in Rohtak after the elections, but the rates had gone down.

“There was a hike of 10-15 per cent in the property prices before the elections and the investors expected a further increase of at least 20 per cent. However, they are unable to sell the property even at the rates at which they bought it,” says Bahl.

He said several investors bought property beyond their capacity in the hope of selling it at higher prices after the elections, maintaining that such investors were in a tough situation now.

Sources in the property market also said the auctioning of residential, commercial and industrial plots by the state authorities had also hampered the circulation of money in the property market.

Meanwhile, the property dealers have opposed the hike in the collector rates imposed by the state government.

Representatives of the Property Dealers and Advisers Association, Haryana, submitted a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to the local City Magistrate, demanding withdrawal of the hike in collector rates of property.

“The collector rates of property are already higher than the market price in several colonies of Rohtak. Hence, there is no point in increasing the collector rates,” said Ramesh Khurana, the president of the association.

He said the association would have no option but to take the legal recourse if the state government did not address the concerns of the property dealers.