Two lakh houses vacant in Pune, reveals Survey

1/2/2018

PUNE: The city has about 2,00,000 unoccupied houses that can accommodate about 8-10 lakh people, making Pune a joint fourth (with Ahmedabad) in terms of vacant houses across the country - just behind Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. This was revealed in the Economic Survey 2018. The census defines a vacant house as a place, where no member is staying, nor it is being used for any non-residential purposes.

It is estimated that Pune has a shortfall of 3-4 lakh houses. According to Census 2011, the district has a total of over 20.75 lakh households, about 41% of which is just a one-room dwelling and 28% is a two-room lodging. Over 11 lakh of these homes are situated in the limits of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations.

The data also shows that 40-50% of the population in urban areas of Pune stays on rent. These figures indicate that the scope and appetite for housing is huge, but people are unable to afford these units. That housing is not just an economic need but also a social issue can be estimated from the fact that a whopping 40% of the city's population stays in slums.

Though not all the 2 lakh existing homes might be available for sale, the survey said. “Rent Control, unclear property rights and difficulties with contract enforcement have constrained the market in India in recent decades... The phenomenon of high vacancy rates is not fully understood but unclear property rights, weak contract enforcement and low rental yields may be important factors," it said.

The economic survey's data is not to be confused with new units that are under-construction or are ready for sale. If these were to be taken into account, it will add another 1,10,000 units to the inventory, according to private estimates.

According to a property consultancy site, about 5 lakh people are looking for just a 2BHK accommodation in Pune alone.

It is clear that the government needs to do more to address this issue of demand-supply mismatch, if it is keen to address the issue of housing for all. The survey recommends that the government not just encourage construction of more new units, but also simplify laws around rentals to accommodate the "fluid" population that flocks to Indian cities.

Deepesh Deomurari : Intervention of Government is not required. Slowly prices of unsold inventory is coming down. It will hit a deal when it will come down further atleast 20% from current rates. Also, one more impediment in selling of second-sale homes is the loan tenure and sanction procedures. "Most banks and finance institutions give out loans for 30 years in best case scenario and for second-hand homes, they reduce the loan tenure in proportion to the age of the building," said a property broker.