Vijayawada: The prices of apartment flats on the Vijayawada-Amaravati capital-Guntur stretch has touched a new high, reaching the Rs 2 crore mark for a three-bedroom apartment. Forget about middle-class families, even those from the richer sections are finding the apartments prohibitively expensive. Builders said that the apartment prices were higher than in other cities in the state and even Hyderabad.
Middle class families prefer apartments which are more affordable than independent house. But even these are going out of reach with builders charging anywhere between Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 per square feet. The prices of apartments on the villages in the outskirts range from Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000.
Several independent villas in the Amaravati capital city region near the Chief Minister’s residence were sold for nearly Rs 4.5 crore. Builders said they were charing Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 per square feet in the city areas like Mogulrajapuram, LIC Colony, Municipal Employees Colony, Benz Circle, Bharathi Nagar, Patamata, Patamatalanka, Guru Nanak Colony, Postal Colony, RTC Colony, Ayyappa Nagar, Labbipet, Governorpet, Satyanarayanapuram, Srinagar Colony.
Most builders prefer to construct flat of 2,000 sq ft to 2,5000 square feet.
The cost per square feet is Rs 6,000 in Guntur too. The cost is Rs 5,000 in villages near the Amaravati capital like Tadepalli, Kunchanapalli, Penumaka,Ibrahimpatnam, Kanuru, Penamaluru and Gollapudi.
Even people in the upper middle classes are not able to afford a flat, said Mr L. Ramesh, owner of a departmental store in LIC Colony. Vijayawada Builders Association president Gadde Rajalingam said that there was no way to offer flats at lesser cost when land is expensive in Vijayawada and Guntur.
The construction cost is the same, he said. Builders were not getting higher profits though the flats were expensive, because of the high land cost.
