Apartment cost goes up in Vizag, out of middle class reach

Visakhapatnam: The cost of flats in apartment complexes went up from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 per sqft in many parts of the Visakhapatnam city and to higher levels in the heart of the city and on the beach front during the last one year.

The present costs have edged the middle class out of the apartment league and they may have to choose a house at least 30km away from the city to suit their medium budgets.

A 1,000 sqft flat in Sagarnagar area, about 6km away from city centre with minimum amenities costs Rs 75 lakh excluding the registration cost which is 7.5 per cent of the total cost of the flat.

“I sold flats for Rs 75 lakh in the Sagar Nagar area. Those who want cheaper ones can go to Kurmannapalem near the steel plant area or in Anandapuram. The central area flats or those on the beach front are not within the reach of the middle class anymore,’’ said Lok Sabha member from Visakhapatnam, MVV Satyanarayana.

The MP told this correspondent that the land costs have gone up manyfold and people are asking for branded specifications for toilets, kitchen, ceiling and flooring. The cost hike is not necessarily linked to the ‘capital talk’,” he said.

General secretary of CRDEAI, B. Srinivas, said that in addition to land costs, construction cost also went up by Rs 600 per square feet here.

Though cement prices remained static, the cost of steel, plumbing materials, paints, electrical goods and sanitary ware as also other finishing products went up since March last year.

Even the labour charges increased from Rs 180 per square feet to Rs 280 square feet, he said.

Srinivas said currently 1500 to 2,000 projects are under construction. Around 7,000 units would be ready in another two years. The price per unit should be at the rate of Rs 7,500 per square feet between Sagarnagar and Rushikonda, about Rs 6,000 in Yendada and Rs 3,500 in Anandapuram and Madhurawada areas.

The rates at RK Beach, Pandurangapuram and East Point Colony vary between Rs 10,000 and Rs 12,000 per square feet.

Those who book flats at the start of a project stand to benefit while the new customers have to pay a higher price, said a private banker.

“Families having a monthly income of  Rs 70,000 and considered middle class have to look for property away from the city and may wait for the launch of the rapid transit system,’’ the banker said.