Realty; Hyderabad still a most affordable city

Hyderabad: Uncertainty of half a decade on the status of Hyderabad seems to have not impacted the charm of it for those who want to make it their home.

Hyderabad continued to be an affordable city in terms renting a home or buying one. A recent study by Arth Yantra, a business study group, clearly states that Hyderabad continues to be the most affordable real estate market among the major cities of India.

Among the 8 cities, Hyderabad retains its spot as the most affordable place to buy or rent a home. The years of saving required to afford buying a property in Hyderabad has increased to 5.

A middle professional is needed to save just for 4 years to buy a house. Hyderabad, the cheapest city to buy a home among the eight cities considered, offers the largest residential area of 23.95 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh.

This means that a professional who wants to own a home in Mumbai and Delhi has to spend 3 times more than what he spends in Hyderabad for the same area. In Ahmedabad for annual salary range of Rs 8-10 lakhs, a professional can't afford to buy.

A professional whose salary range is more than Rs 12 lakh per annum should consider owning a home than renting it. For a professional with a salary range of Rs 8-14 lakh per annum in Bengaluru renting a house is cheaper than buying one.

The low rental prices also mean that a professional with a salary more than Rs 15 lakh and who can afford to buy a house would opt for renting a house rather to buy one. Chennai's scenario says that for a professional with a salary range of Rs 8-19 lakh the monthly cost renting is cheaper than buying.

The low rental prices make one to go for renting, even for a professional with salary more than Rs 20 lakh. In the case of Delhi NCR low rental values compared to high property prices make it a place where renting can be easily afforded and the EMI associated with home loan is high.

It is advisable to go for renting even for a professional with a salary range of Rs 8 ' 25 lakh. With regard to Hyderabad, for a professional with a salary range of Rs 8-9 lakh, the better option is renting.

A professional with a salary of Rs 10- 11 lakh falls in the neutral zone i.e. he can afford to buy and it is advisable to buy but have to make a few adjustments to the current lifestyle in order to afford the additional amount for EMI payments.

Professionals with a salary range more than Rs 12 lakh are advised to buy. According to Artha Yantra study, for a person in Kolkata with a salary range of Rs 8-12 lakh rental value is critically high but the professional in the salary range can't afford to buy.

A professional whose salary range is between Rs 13 ' 25 lakh should consider owning a home rather than renting one. In Mumbai it is advisable to rent because the property prices are very high.

The EMI payments to be made in case of ownership are not affordable. In the case of Pune, a professional with a salary range of Rs 8- 12 lakh is better off renting.

A professional with a salary of Rs 13- 15 lakh falls in the neutral zone i.e. he can afford to buy and it is advisable to buy but have to make few adjustments to the current lifestyle.

Professionals with a salary range more than Rs 15 lakh are advised to buy. Mumbai, being the costliest city to own a home among of the eight cities considered, offers the least space of 7.50 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh. Delhi is the second costliest city offering a residential space of 8.55 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh, which is 1.06 sq ft more than that of Mumbai.

Ahmedabad is the cheapest city to buy a home. It provides a residential space of 20.18 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh. Pune provides a living space of 18.55 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh. This is followed by Bengaluru that offers 16.01 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh, Kolkata which offers 15.69 sq ft per Rs 1 lakh.