Kolkata Insite Report Oct-Dec 2019

 99ACRES' OUTLOOK

 

Limited number of new launches and subdued sales kept the property prices reeling under pressure in Kolkata in Oct-Dec 2019. Developers’ focused on offloading the unsold inventory of nearly 40,000 housing units. Kolkata is yet to witness any positive trend in sales, resulting in a negligible hike of a percent in average weighted property prices in the studied quarter against the previous one.

 

 

 

A handful of housing projects launched this quarter constituted only two percent share in the total project launches across metro cities. Out of around 2,000 new residential units added to the market, Uttarpara in West and EM Bypass Extension in East housed the majority by Category A builders, such as Salarpuria Sattva, Magnolia Infrastructure and Shriram Properties.

 

Steady housing demand in Rajarhat and New Town failed to boost property prices in the belts and reported either muted or declining ‘ask’ rates. However, these areas witnessed 4-5 percent spike in average rentals, YoY.

 

Noticeably, Majerhat Bridge is anticipated to be operational in the next six months. It is touted to propel housing demand in Joka, Maheshtala, Thakurpur and Batanagar. On the other hand, the planned redevelopment of Tala Bridge – a crucial connector to North Kolkata – is most likely to subdue the buying sentiment in micro-markets along BT Road such as Dunlop, Khardah and Sodepur. Resultantly, possibilities of any improvement in property prices and demand look meek in the ensuing months.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Rajarhat, New Town and other prime areas of South Kolkata, such as Joka, Rajpur, EM Bypass and Tollygunge, remained the preferred locales among homebuyers and captured the maximum share of sale enquiries for properties priced up to Rs 60 lakh in Oct-Dec 2019. However, the city reported restricted sales across budget segments.

Kolkata recorded a marginal hike of a percent in ‘ask’ rates, QoQ. Majority of the demand inclined towards low-cost 2 BHK units priced up to Rs 25 lakh with an average unit size of about 600-800 sq ft. An unmet supply of about 30 percent continued to be the prime reason behind dwindling sales this quarter.

 

 

Residential hubs of North and South zones, such as Bara Nagar, Naktala, Joka, Park Circus, Picnic Garden and Barrackpore, saw an uptick in average capital ‘asks’ by four percent, each, QoQ. Salt Lake also witnessed a quarterly upsurge of four percent in property prices owing to increased office space absorption. Average property rates in this area stand at Rs 6,200 per sq ft. The rising demand of co-living and co-working spaces in Salt Lake resulted in a growth of around eight percent in rental rates, YoY.

 

 

The rental landscape clocked a two percent hike, YoY. Mukundapur from South topped the popularity charts owing to its robust connectivity to EM Bypass and well-planned social infrastructure. It posted nine percent hike in average rental values in Oct-Dec 2019 against Oct-Dec 2018. Other locales such as Patuli, Santoshpur, New Town Action Area III, Garia, Bhawanipore and Tollygunge also remained tenants’ favourites and scored 6-8 percent growth in the studied period.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

With the majority of the demand lying within Rs 40 lakh, the affordable housing segment continues to dominate the housing sector in Kolkata. About 10,000 stalled housing units, which are under redevelopment, are anticipated to benefit from Government’s stress fund. If these units go for sale in the ensuing quarters, the resale market may see a favourable trend. In addition, West Bengal Housing Industry Regulatory Authority (WBHIRA) has ordered a refund in about 24 cases, out of the registered 150 cases, filed against the developers. The economic slowdown and subdued sales compelled the developers to realign their efforts towards offloading the unsold stock. The city is anticipated to witness a higher number of new launches around Bengal New Year in April 2020.