Price edge drives realty boom on Vizag outskirts

VISAKHAPATNAM: Real estate prices have gone through the roof in the 'city of destiny' and city dwellers are now scouting for open spaces on the outskirts of the city where rates are still affordable. While the real estate market is picking up after a threeyear slump, the boom on the outskirts of the city has gladdened the hearts of realtors and property developers.

"Yes, the real estate business is on the upswing and we are expecting things to get even better in the coming months," realtor G Rama Jogi told TOI. He said that skyrocketing property rates in the city was forcing the business and middle classes to look for options on the outskirts.

There is a huge demand for land now in Sabbavaram, Nakkapalli, Chodavaram and Anakapalli mandals, on Vizag's periphery. A cursory glance at land rates in Vizag is enough to illustrate the change the real estate business has witnessed in the last five years. Square feet rates in posh areas like MVP Colony, Lawson's Bay Colony, Kirlampudi Layout, Seetammadhara, Beach Road, Dasapalla Layout, Asilmetta and Dwaraka Nagar used to be Rs 2,200 five years ago. Now, the prices have shot up to Rs 3,800-4,500 a square feet.

In middle-class localities like Madhavadhara, Murali Nagar and Akkayyapalem, the rate is Rs 3,000/sq.ft. Even in areas like Madhurawada, Kommadi, PM Palem, Gajuwaka, Kurmannapalem, Sheela Nagar, Duvvada and Sagar Nagar square feet prices have gone from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000-2,500.

Realtors say that, in the city, a two-bedroom apartment measuring 1,000 sq.ft. would not come for anything less than Rs 30 lakh. On the outskirts, the same apartment can be had for Rs 20 lakh. With the suburban property market thus becoming hot, there has been a two to three-fold increase in registrations in Sabbavaram, Narsipatnam, Nakkapalli, Chodavaram and Anandapuram mandals.

However, despite skyrocketing prices, a member of the real estate developers' organisation said that they were selling 5,000 to 10,000 flats in the city.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Price-edge-drives-realty-boom-on-Vizag-outskirts/articleshow/11692688.cms