Builders abandon Hyderabad; switch focus to Vijayawada

Property prices in Vijayawada city on the Andhra Pradesh coast have spiked nearly 20 per cent in one month as realtors have turned their attention to what could become the state capital if a separate Telangana is carved out of AP.

Hyderabad, the current state capital, could become a part of Telangana under the new dispensation.
 
According to a PTI report, although both Telangana and 'Samaikyandhra' agitators are still fighting over the status of Hyderabad, many builders are already showing keen interest in Vijayawada.

Giridhara Prasad Gupta, a real estate businessman, told the news agency that this has led to the prices of apartments and plots zooming northward in Vijayawada. Ramavarapadu and Gannavaram districts in the city are now the most sought after areas - particularly as the Larsen & Toubro information technology park is coming up there.
 
On the other hand, C Sekhar Reddy, president, Andhra Pradesh Builders Forum, said real estate transactions in Hyderabad have come down recently. But he added that this could not be attributed entirely to the Telangana issue. "There has been a slump in the sector for the past one year," Reddy said.
 
He said, on an average, 15,000 apartments a year were sold in Hyderabad from 2004 to 2007. But the figure came down to 10,000 in 2008.

According to a senior official, the property registration activity has come down by 10 per cent in Hyderabad, whereas it is normal in other parts of the state.