The real estate market in Ongole, which was in the race for location of State capital before losing out to Thullur in Guntur district, is witnessing a slump at present, with no takers even for prime properties in the posh localities.

With major projects like Rs. 38,000-crore National Investment and Manufacturing Zone, Rs. 8,000-crore Ramayapatnam Port and Rs. 5,000-crore Donakonda industrial city in limbo, realtors who have invested their money on speculative deals are rueing their fate now. The situation is also no different for builders of apartments and individual houses, in the wake of drop in property prices by about 20 to 25 per cent.

Revenue generation

“The revenue generated from property registrations in the Ongole region was only Rs. 72 crore till last month as against the target of Rs. 125.97 crore set up for the 2014-15 fiscal year, as deals pertaining to immovable assets have been charting a downward trend,” District Registrar V. Muralikrishna told The Hindu .

In Markapur region, revenue generated from registration of land documents stood at only Rs. 49 crore till February 2015, when compared to the target of Rs. 84.49 crore fixed by the government for this fiscal, he adds.

There are no takers for either residential plots or apartments, laments Sai Krishna Developers’ Director Alla Venkateswara Rao.

The constructed flats remain unsold owing to slump in demand, in among other areas such as Lawyerpet, Rajivnagar, Bhagyanagar, Santhapeta and Ramnagar, he says.

“Adding to our woes, sand price has doubled to Rs. 18,000 per truckload, after the introduction of the new sand policy. Similarly, cement price per bag has shot up to Rs. 340 from Rs. 240,” he adds. Lands closer to the Chennai-Kolkata Highway (NH5) used to attract buyers last year and the prices had gone up to Rs. 1.5 crore per acre.

“Now, the buyers are not ready to pay even Rs. 1 crore per acre,” laments P. Krishna Rao, a property dealer. The government should intervene and make all raw material such as sand and cement at affordable prices to spur the construction activity in the State, the realtors say.