The Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) is inviting applications from prospective buyers for auction of 37 plots located in various parts of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. These plots are likely to go under the hammer on April 26.
The VMRDA’s land auctions generally draw a huge number of applications due to the litigation-free nature of its lands. The fresh auction may again set a new benchmark in land prices in Vizag, which has already emerged as the costliest city in terms of real estate.
Land prices in Vizag city and its suburbs have become unaffordable for the majority. Even some 50 kilometers away from the city, private developers are quoting around 10,000-15,000 per square yard.
The upset price of a square yard of these 37 plots ranges between 20,000 and 96,000. The base price of two odd bits in Vizianagaram has been fixed at 13,200.
23,100 per square yard is the price fixed by the committee for a plot in Kapuluppada, while another plot in Rushikonda will go under the hammer for a 40,000 base price.
Of the 37 plots that will be sold in the open auction, 27 plots are located in the VMRDA’s Fortune Hills layout in Dakamarri. The base price of these 27 plots is 20,000 per square yard.
The then Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (Vuda) initiated the auction of the plots in the Fortune Hills layout with an upset price of 10,000 back in 2016. Even then, several plots were sold at a premium price of nearly 15,000. The plots in private layouts in and around Dakamarri are currently being traded at 12,000 to 15,000 per square yard. The VMRDA’s sale of land may have a ripple effect on the overall real estate segment, particularly on the north side of Vizag city.
In an auction conducted for several plots by the VMRDA in 2019, a plot located in MVP Colony of the city, measuring 387 square yards, received a bid at 1,08,700 per square yard against the upset price of 56,400. Another plot in Madhurawada fetched a record 95,000 per square yard for the VMRDA when the market price was in the 30,000 to 50,000 range three years ago. Almost all land parcels surpassed the price set by the VMRDA by more than one-and-a-half to two times in this auction.
