An RTI response has unveiled a concerning statistic regarding Vadodara, revealing that approximately 1 lakh properties are currently unoccupied. This revelation has raised alarms within the local real estate sector, signaling potential trouble ahead.
Sunset scene from Manjalpur Bridge in Vadodara: Confusion arises over the number of vacant properties.
Per the RTI reply, a staggering total of 1,02,880 properties are noted as vacant in Vadodara. This has prompted speculation about the health of the real estate market in the city, particularly as there seem to be no interested buyers for the uncovered properties. The data was disclosed by the Directorate of Census Operations, Gujarat, in response to a request from a Vadodara resident, with a duplicate copy sent to the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).
The detailed response showed that among the properties within VMC jurisdiction, there are 3,90,812 residential units and around 85,843 commercial listings, while 5,056 properties listed as residential-cum-other. The alarming figure of vacant properties contrasts sharply with the views of several local developers, who are skeptical about the reported numbers.
Confusion aroused over the number of vacant properties in Vadodara.
Vipul Thakkar, president of the Vadodara chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), strongly dismissed the report's findings, categorizing it as absurd. He posited that the true count of vacant properties in the city could not exceed 5,000 to 10,000. Thakkar insisted that such a high vacancy figure would indicate an imminent collapse of the local real estate market.
Though acknowledging the stagnation in the city's realty market, he maintained that the census results cannot be trusted. Supporting Thakkar's perspective, figures from the revenue department corroborate a much lower count of approximately 14,000 vacant properties, as asserted by R M Patel, the assistant commissioner (revenue) of VMC, who noted that taxes were only collected on those 14,000 properties.
Some officials from the VMC speculated that the census crews might have mistakenly classified locked properties as vacant. Others suggested that the reported numbers could pertain to the entire district, not just the municipality. Furthermore, the vacancy figures encompass both sold and unsold properties that are currently not in use.