Hyderabad: Easy access to Hyderabad and relatively affordable prices is turning Ooty’s suburbs such as Lovedale and other hill stations in the Nilgiris, including Coonoor, Kotagiri and Hullathy, into go-to destinations for Telugu families. They are no longer looking to spend their vacations there but buying their second homes.Although the numbers are hard to come by, many from the Telugu states, especially high net worth individuals (HNIs), are said to be building homes there, where they spend nearly two to three months every year. And since the Covid-19 pandemic their numbers have only increased.“The Nilgiris is full of Telugus,” said Anirudh Reddy, a realtor from the city. The 54-year-old, who made the Nilgiris his base after returning from New Zealand about six years ago, says he now spends nearly 10 months a year at his property spread over 14 acres near Coonoor, travelling to Hyderabad as and when work forces him to.“After a series of earthquakes and aftershocks in New Zealand, my wife and I decided to move back to Hyderabad. But the very first summer after our return saw temperatures touching 42 degrees, and my dog was miserable,” he says. “As my parents already owned a holiday home in Ooty, we went there and eventually decided to buy one ourselves.”Reddy said his family was keen on finding a place away from the touristy bustle of Ooty. “We built a small house surrounded by nature,” he added, noting that locals in the area have been largely welcoming. USP: Connectivity, communityTelugu families, who have bought holiday homes in and around Ooty, said proximity to Coimbatore airport was one of the primary reasons for zeroing in on the Nilgiris. The airport is barely an hour-long flight from Hyderabad, making emergency travel easier.“My parents spend their summers here. They are in their late sixties, so we had to be mindful of medical emergencies,” says SN Sandeep, a Hyderabad-based home automation professional. “If something goes wrong, they need to be in Hyderabad within about three hours. That made it an easy decision to build a holiday home in Lovedale, instead of looking at places like Kodaikanal, Munnar or hill stations further north.”Sandeep adds that a group of Telugu families came together to build holiday homes in the area so that they could be a support system for one another.Buyers say land is available in parts of the Nilgiris for around Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per square yard. However, they point out that capital appreciation is limited, as in most cases Telugu buyers end up selling their properties only within the same community if they choose to exit. Building informal gated communitiesRealtors from Hyderabad, who have projects in the Nilgiris, say Telugu buyers are increasingly building informal gated communities, as permissions are not easy to obtain in ecologically sensitive areas, where even the use of earth movers is prohibited.“In Hyderabad or other urban areas, we can complete a project and move on to the next one in about two years. That’s not the case in the Nilgiris. Here, it takes nearly a year just to get permission to build a house,” says N Surya, a developer who has launched a project spread over 15 acres between Coonoor and Kotagiri. “We also have to be sensitive towards the ecology, as projects need to blend into the surroundings and be sustainable.“Developers say they avoid publicity campaigns and rely largely on word of mouth as most projects are small, typically comprising about nine or 10 plots. It usually takes five to seven years to complete a project.They add factors such as limited recreational spaces in and around Hyderabad compared to cities like Bengaluru, weather conditions, familiarity with the Nilgiris due to childhood visits, and the presence of wildlife have contributed to the growing interest in buying properties here. Can earn decent ROIBoth buyers and realtors say that with tourism picking up post-pandemic, even those who use the homes only during summer can rent out their properties to tourists for about 120 to 150 days a year.“Along with decent returns, there will also be capital appreciation, as things are changing for the better post-pandemic. Before 2020, buying land here was considered a dead investment, but not anymore. The market is likely to change over the next five years,” said Koushik Indukuri, who launched a project in Hullathy targeting HNIs.
