Capital talk has not impacted realty sector: builders

‘Although there is demand, everyone wants to wait and watch’. The VMC, earlier, used to receive 1,400 to 1,500 applications a year. In the city, about 50 apartments and 2,500 individual houses used to be constructed every year on an average.

VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH, 24/06/2014.A high rise building under construction in Vijayawada city. PHOTO: V_RAJU.

There seems to be no reality in the much-hyped boom in housing. The talk about capital between Vijayawada and Guntur has not impacted the realty sector, going by what the builders say.

According to senior builder Gadde Rajling there is a huge demand for housing. Unfortunately, nobody is filling the gap between demand and supply. Everyone wants to wait and watch. More so, availability of land in city limits was another constraint, he said.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC), “hasn’t received a single application for construction of an apartment” from the builders during last one-and-half months.

There is a slowdown in construction activity in the corporation limits and builders are not coming forward with fresh proposals. Though the VMC is receiving applications for approval of plans for individual buildings now and then, the scenario does not present a rosy picture when it comes to apartments and multi-storeyed complexes. The situation is no better in Vijayawada Guntur Tenali Mangalagiri Urban Development Authority (VGTMUDA) limits.

City Planner C. Chakrapani said, “There is a lull as far as building plans for apartments and high rise buildings were considered. A few individuals are applying for building plans. The corporation would have received not less than Rs. 10 crore if the usual trend for new apartments is present.”

The VMC should have received about 100 plans for apartments by now if the projected demand was a parameter. It appears people are investing on land, he felt.

Previous experience says that close to 150 building plans for apartments should have been filed in VMC limits by now. The hard fact is that it would not have crossed the single digit in both VMC and UDA regions, he felt.

The VMC, earlier, used to receive 1,400 to 1,500 applications a year. In the city, about 50 apartments and 2,500 individual houses used to be constructed every year on an average. The town planning wing used to process 250 to 300 building applications a month. The corporation used to sanction more than 60 building plans for apartments and group housing a year. Sometimes, it even touched 80, VMC sources say.