Tag: Real Estate kolkata

Reconstruction of North Kolkata and the Developments in West Bengal

Infrastructure is amongst the most important contributors to the economy of the State of West Bengal. Social and urban infrastructure are the subset of the sector and play a vital role in generating revenue for the economy. The growth in this sector has a direct correlation with the growth of the State.

As per the Census of 2011, the population of West Bengal has risen from 80.1 million in 2001 to 91.3 million in 2011. Further, urbanization in the State rose from 28 percent in 2001 to 32 percent in 2011. Real-estate sector along with the infrastructure sector has contributed significantly to cater to the growing population and urbanization of the State.

Also, West Bengal’s real-estate is growing at a rapid pace compared to the sector in other States like Karnataka, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. However, in comparison with Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the State’s real-estate sector needs to ramp up pace.

Studies reveal that the real-estate sector in West Bengal is the 5th largest contributor to the State’s Gross Domestic Product. The real-estate sector has observed an upsurge in growth with the second highest CAGR (among other sectors) of 19.6 percent during 2006-2011, hence depicting the absolute contribution of the sector in the overall development of the State.

North Kolkata, the heritage part of the city is now restructuring itself to keep in pace with the other parts of the State capital. To bring back the glory, there are various prestigious projects in this region by Merlin group, Ideal Group, Blue Chip Group etc. The resplendent, Rajmahal is a project that reflects the glory of royal legacy, a project never anticipated before in the city. Heritage of Rajmahal dates back to 1757, when Raja Nabakrishna Deb, the chief adviser of Lord Clive rebuilt a fort to a gorgeous palace, The Sovabazaar Rajbari.

Rajmahal is located at the heart of North Kolkata in Sutanuti. It is the ideal residing place for people craving for old Kolkata charm combined with the modern day luxury. This distinctive complex has all modern amenities and built on international standards. All the residents of Rajmahal will be honoured participators of the legendary and prestigious Sova Bazaar Rajbari Durga Puja, which started way back in 1757. At Rajmahal, one can live the legacy in the heart of heritage, amidst the creation of Royal art with the depiction of 300 years of Kolkata.

Infrastructure sector (construction and real-estate) has been instrumental in curtailing the unemployment rate in the State. The sector is highly labour intensive and helps in generating employment especially in the semiskilled and low-skilled category. Further, activities involved are neither cyclic nor seasonal; therefore, the sectors provide employment on a permanent basis. According to studies, in 2008 these sectors employed approximately 0.84 (thousands) people and this ratio is expected to grow to 1.40 (thousands) people by 2015.

NRI’s are willing to invest in Kolkata’s booming real estate especially at places like North Kolkata due to the old Kolkata charm and as well as the appreciation of dollar. Real-estate sector is expected to play a paramount role in developing urban and social and urban infrastructure in the coming years.

Source: corecommunique.com

Residential in, commercial out for real estate bigwigs

Originally published in the Financial Express on 24th October, 2011

Lack of funds, customer aversion to striking advance lease deals and a slowdown in demand for office space have combined to push real estate developers into building more residential apartments than commercial spaces.

“In the residential market, you can pre-sell the space and customer advances can almost fully finance the actual construction ad agiainst the commercial market,” says Pirojsha Godrej, executive director, Godrej Properties.
Godrej Properties (GPL) has put on hold its commercial estate development in Tier-II cities and, instead is now focusing more on residential apartments. According to them the commercial real estate segment turns out to be capital intensive without good returns and residential real estate, on the is more viable, given the way the selling of space takes place in such projects.
“Residential properties definitely give higher returns as, in some of the projects, bookings start even before the ground breaking happens, which is not the case in the commercial space,” says Samantak Das, national head (research), research & advisory services, Knight Frank (India).
Lenders funds developers who have a good track record and are involved in projects that have demand. Consultants say lender risk is linked to muted rentals.”The key risks for lenders to commercial real estate are that rents are not likely to improve for the next 18-24 months,” says Anshul Jain, chief executive, real estate consulting firm DTZ India. “The demand has also been lacklustre in 2011-2012 compared to 2010-2011.”
In Kolkata, Godrej is developing two large information technology parks Godrej Waterside and Godrej Genesis. “We have locked up huge amounts of capital in these projects, but the returns have not been proportionate,” says Pirojsha Godrej. The company, which was earlier planning to develop both commercial and residential properties in Ahmedabad, will now build only residential apartments there.
Many developers agree with Godrej.
As the current economic scenario is gloomy, developers are deferring commercial office space ventures, says Samantak Das of Knight Frank (India). “There is a lot of supply in the market, which can still be absorbed,” he says.
In CY 2010, anywhere between 33 million and 35 million sqft of commercial space was sold; in 2011, it is likely to be 35 million sqft, says DTZ’s Jain. “In 2012, the demand offtake is likely to taper off to 31-32 million sqft, provided the world does not burst because, if that happens, the situation could be akin to the the one in 2009 when the offtake slipped to 23 million sqft from the 40 million sqft in 2007”.
Source: capitalcityscape.over-blog.com

Kolkata real estate: end users drive property prices

Kolkata is one of the very few real estate destinations where demand by end users is driving the prices of properties.

There has been a consistent demand from end buyers, and this has been unaffected by recession. One can find very good homes in various suburban areas of Kolkata, BT Road (North), Chandpur Champahati (extreme East), Baruipur (South), Howrah (West), with affordable prices keeping in view the low land cost of those areas, various commuting facilities, economic crunch overall, giving a chance to anybody to invest in those areas.

Investment pattern

Rajarhat is expected to soar on the backdrop of future IT growth story. However, due to recessionary economic phase and political changes many are assuming a wait & watch situation. EM Bypass is another attractive location.

Based on the report by ICICI Home Finance for FY 2012, the market will continue to expand by 10-15 per cent for the next 5 years.

Emerging trends

Low cost homes is the recent trend: There is an emerging trend that real estate developers are also going for low cost homes, and also investing in lands beyond the boundaries of Kolkata.

It is high end-user driven market: End-user consumes 65 per cent of this realty segment. The city is witnessing heavy demand for affordable housing apartment units in the range of Rs 25-30 lakh, as per ICICI research.

This is due to lower cost transportation facilities that provide better commuting facilities between sub-urban areas and Kolkata.

Smaller project size is developers choice: Builders are interested in smaller real estate projects, as it is easy to enter and exit these projects. This is considered after government came with revised land acquisition bill that make the takeover of the land very cumbersome.

Key developments

Kolkata’s real estate market is booming is evident from the fact that- Alchemist Township has bought 20 acres of land from Highland group in Kolkata and will build a Rs 600 crore residential project. The deal was facilated by Jones Lang LaSalle.

Godrej Properties is also launching its Rs 100 crore suoer-luxure residential project in South-Kolkata. This is the second project after Godrej Prakriti in Sodepur.

The state government has come up with a land use and development control plan (LUDCP) for the proposed Raghunathpur industrial township on a 29,000-acre barren and less fertile land identified in Purulia.

Land policy once made, will determine the kind of industries that can be set up in the area and at what rate prospective investors could buy land from landowners.

 

Top 3 Realty Investment Destinations in Kolkata

People who are planning to invest in Kolkata this year, Kolkata’s EM Bypass, Behala, and Rajarhat are consistently on the buyers’ mind for some time now. Lower asset values and land prices, availability of scalable infrastructure and the government’s development initiatives make Kolkata an ideal investment option.

The city’s 21 km EM Bypass connects the northern hub of Ultadanga to Kamalgazi in the south. Many residential and commercial establishments are coming up along this stretch. New projects here include Urban Sabujayan by Envision Realty, Altius by Pioneer Property Management Pvt Ltd, Shell Tech by Shell Tech Construction, Heights by Sukriti Realty, etc. In the Oct-Dec quarter, prices along EM Bypass price increased by 6 per cent to Rs 5,354 per sq ft as compared to Rs 5,054 per sq ft in Jul-Sept quarter. One of prime reasons for its popularity is its proximity to malls, 5-star hotels, education institutions/universities, hospitals, schools, metro rail, etc. The government has plans to build a 40-metre bridge across the Guniagachha canal while a flyover connecting EM Bypass with Park Circus and existing AJC Bose Road Flyover is under construction.

Behala is one of the major suburbs of Kolkata. It is brimming with residential projects by developers such as Merlin Projects Ltd and Swabhumi Real Estate India Ltd. The average locality price firmed up by 5 per cent in Oct-Dec quarter to Rs 3,579 per sq ft in comparison to Rs 3,421 during Jul-Sep quarter. Behala is well connected by buses, trams, taxis and metro railway. The nearby markets, hospitals, schools make the area perfect for residence. Behala also creates a huge demand for 2BHK properties.

Rajarhat, now known as New Town is located in North 24 Parganas district. The newly established township consists of gated high-rise complexes by 21st Century Realty, Siddha Group, Kwality Realtech Pvt Ltd and Mount Hill Realty Pvt Ltd. The average locality price was Rs 3,579 per sq ft in the Oct-Dec quarter, up 5 per cent from Rs 3,421 in Jul-Sept quarter. Rajarhat has major hospitals, malls, parks, clubs, 5-star hotels, etc. The connectivity of this locality depends upon buses, taxis and metro. The Data shows response towards Rajarhat is tremendous. The price of property as well as land is increasing every year therefore the best time to invest is right now.

Source: Aawas.in

Connectivity hikes residential prices on VIP Road, Kolkata

Owing to the strategic location and smooth connectivity, residential properties on VIP Road have registered a capital appreciation of more than 45 per cent over the last four months. The rates that were in the bracket of Rs 3,200-3,500 per sq ft in September’12 has reached to Rs 4,000-6,000 per sq ft in January’13.

VIP Road starts after Ultadanga and stretches up to the International Airport. It includes many towns on its periphery. These are Lake Town, Bangur, Dum Dum Park, Keshtopur, Baguiati, Jora Mandir and Teghoria. International Airport and Ultadanga Railway Station located one and 5 Km away from the area, respectively ensures smooth connectivity to other parts of Kolkata. VIP Road has easy connectivity to important places like Rajarhat, Salt Lake sector-5, New Town and New Kolkata among many others.

In addition, there are good schools, markets, hospitals and restaurants in the vicinity that make this area inhabitable. Proximity to the New Town and Salt Lake also brings a lot of buyers to VIP Road. Being an end-user driven market, we see a lot of IT professionals working in the commercial hubs such as New Town and Salt Lake sector-5. Also, we see a considerable number of businessmen as end-users on VIP Road.

As per the availability of units in the area, there is a lot of resale property available. There are 70 units, on an average, available in various localities on the VIP Road. There is an ongoing project too by PS Group called Magnum, which offers 2-4 BHK units. The project is selling units at Rs 5,500-6,000 per sq ft. Units in all these new projects are selling at Rs 5,000 to 7,000 per sq ft, the average rate being Rs 6,000 per sq ft.

Source: Aawas.in