Despite government’s efforts to streamline the approval process, such as amendments to the Building Rules 2017, introducing the Self-Certification Scheme 2025, and abolishing the NALA Act, business has been slow, says A.P. CREDAI secretary The real estate sector in Vijayawada has seen steady demand for residential properties and selective traction in commercial spaces in 2025. | Photo Credit: G.N. RAO The real estate sector in and around Vijayawada reported a gradual progress in the year 2025, however, industry experts consider it to be slightly off the mark as they had expected a boom following the shift in focus to Amaravati capital region. Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), Andhra Pradesh, secretary D. Rambabu said the sector fell short of meeting their expectations this year. Despite the government’s efforts to streamline the approval process, such as amendments to the Building Rules 2017, introducing the Self-Certification Scheme (SCS) 2025, and abolishing the NALA Act, the business has been slow, he said. Explaining the reasons, Mr. Rambabu said: “The sector has been witnessing a temporary slowdown due to global economic uncertainty. Due to shifting foreign policies, foreign institutional investors and NRI investors have adopted a wait-and-watch policy.” However, the scenario is not all gloom. Land prices in areas surrounding Amaravati jumped by 15-20% since early 2024, with some areas seeing up to 40% year-on-year increase in residential demand, he said, adding that the rental market in the city had seen average demand. CREDAI Vijayawada chapter chairman C. Sathish Babu agreed with Mr. Rambabu and said that while there is a clarity on the capital now, infrastructure has not come to Amaravati yet. “Investors need to feel confident. While the government has been taking positive steps, we feel it may take one to two years for the results to show. At present, it is a buyers’ market, and not the sellers’,” Mr. Sathish Babu said. There are also other issues, including the lingering effects of policies taken during the previous regime, 5% GST, 7.5% registration fee, that have brought the business down. Also, the Vijayawada-Guntur region has many people who settled in foreign countries. “NRI investments contribute heavily to the market here. The global trends have affected their role,” Mr. Sathish Babu said. While real estate brokers in the city feel the capital has brought all the activity to Tadepalli and Vijayawada outskirts and the city itself seeing a lull in the rental business, Builders’ Association of India, Amaravati, Chairman Maturi Ranganath predicted growth for Vijayawada in the next 10 years. Meanwhile, National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) Central Zone president Sandeep Mandava is hopeful that the business will improve next year. “While the first half of 2025 opened to a slow start, the business picked up in the second half. At present, momentum is picking up in Tadepalli, on the airport side, in areas close to the airport, including Poranki in the city. We expect this to continue,” Mr. Sandeep Mandava said.