Andhra Pradesh's 3 capitals decision dashes hopes of realtors

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Government's decision to scrap the bill on three Capitals has triggered a debate on falling land and property prices in the important cities like Visakhapatnam and Kurnool which were supposed to be executive and judicial capitals.

Medium level realtors and investors from Hyderabad who are curious to develop ventures and take up construction business in Visakhapatnam and Kurnool are now in a dilemma as they feel that they would be the losers if they invest money in those places now.

Land prices have already hit the rock bottom in the current state capital Amaravati after Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced the decision of the three capitals for AP in 2020.

Hyderabad Realtors' Association representative S Jaychandra Reddy said that realty business was expected to pick up in the proposed two new capitals after the second wave of the Covid pandemic. Investors and realtors from Hyderabad were visiting these places to study the realty trends particularly land prices, construction activity and commercial property development.

About nearly 40 per cent of the middle level realtors from Hyderabad were planning to shift their attention towards Andhra to develop new ventures in view of easy availability of lands at reasonable prices ever since the issue of three capitals came to fore. Representatives of many Hyderabad registered realty companies had visited Kurnool which was proposed to be the judicial capital.

The investors identified locations, vacant lands and agricultural fields around Kurnool. But with the repeal of the three capitals bill they have decided to wait and watch. They feel that it is not time to invest or take any risk. These realty groups had proposed to invest about Rs 1,000 crore in 2022. The small and medium realtors are not able to invest in Hyderabad due to high land rates. Since Kurnool is the nearest to Hyderabad, they thought of investing in Andhra.

A small group of big realty companies operating from Hyderabad had planned to build high-rise apartments in Visakhapatnam once the Port City was projected as executive capital with the state Secretariat. The investors in the current capital Amaravati have already lost crores of rupees in the realty business. Now, they are not ready to take any further risk until the capital issue is settled. "Now, the big realty companies also want to wait till the issue is settled once for all," a realty association member said.