Ahmedabad and Surat Top the List of Vacant Houses

Bangalore: The rate of unsold inventories in Gujarat is about 15 percent. According to census 2011, the state currently has a total number of 1.75 crore houses lying vacant, Ahmedabad and Surat alone are leading cities with nearly three lakh of unsold units each and over 24 lakh units are lying unoccupied in the state. The reason behind these vacant units is because of investors who purchase these units and exit after obtaining profits.

N K Patel, director, Real Estate Studies & Management Academy (RESMA) cited that “Usually, about 7 percent houses remain vacant in Indian cities. In Ahmedabad, a large number of empty houses are in chawls of eastern Ahmedabad, once home to most textile mills. These workers migrated elsewhere in search of livelihood after mills closed down in 1990s.” Also, a large number of people left their houses vacant during communal riots but still have not sold their ancestral properties.

In Ahmedabad, there are over 12 percent or 2.81 lakh units lying vacant out of the total 22 lakh houses. Whereas, about 2.31 lakh unoccupied houses fall within the city limits. But Surat tops the list of vacant units in Gujarat with 2.86 lakh units.

“These houses were vacant because of the investors. Large numbers of houses are vacant because there was no demand in the market and these houses were technically with the builders. Also a large number of people invest in real investors to get good benefits,” said Nitin Patel, State urban development minister.

According to sources, the current status of Gujarat is mainly because of the fact that it has been an investor-driven market. A large of investors prefers paying the builders instead of registering their properties, which is to save registration charges.

On this note, a Gujarat-based developer said that “The figure also reflects such homes.” In the year 2011-12, the state has sold around 9.07 lakh residential units and in 2010-11, a total number of 10.05 lakh property deals were registered.