Kolkata is the commercial, cultural and educational capital of east India. It is a city that has many faces and has the oldest working port in the country. This is the city that served as the gateway for the East India Company in the early 17th century. One of the most important political centers of power in the colonial times, Kolkata was the capital of the country till 1912 and also the seat of the Supreme Court. It is located on the banks of river Hooghly and has a geographical spread of 185 km. The population is around 5 million, which makes the city one of the densest cities of the country in terms of number of people per square kilometers This urban conglomeration includes a whopping 72 cities and 527 towns governed by three municipal corporations and 39 local municipalities. It is growing metropolitan city well supported by an efficient public transport system, infrastructure like an extensive network of roads and bridges, an international airport, a river port and multiple railway stations.
Current Trends in Residential Real Estate
There is a heavy demand of apartments for the mediam income level group where the pricing is in the range of INR 25 lakhs to 30 lakhs. It is a heavily user end driven market where the end user presence is approximately 65 percent. Rajarahat is the current center of attention due to its potential IT growth in the future. The political turmoil in the state is keeping the realtors in wait and watch stance. New entrants in the realty sector are more inclined towards smaller realty projects owing to the quick entry option it provides. Lack of interest in developing bigger projects can also be owed to the small sections of land and regulatory clearances issues.
Kolkata Residential Real Estate for the year Ahead (2013)
Keeping with the trends of the previous year the real estate market in Kolkata is looking forward to an even better 2013. The state government is taking new initiatives to fasten the clearances process which has ignited hopes for a good year ahead in real estate developers and builders. According to estimates the market is going to expand by 10 to 15 percent in 2013. The residential segment will witness less of the volatility that was prevalent in the previous year. Further, the commercial space will also have a good take off and lower interest rates will drive the consumer confidence to greater levels. Property in Kolkata do not expect to show a speculative price movement and the actually buyers will dominate the market. With rising inflation, raw material will be more expensive and consequently the cost of construction will also rise. The situation was similar in 2012, where a 30 percent of increase in the input costs reflected in the form of 10 to 15 percent price movement in the residential housing segment.
The average rates across the urban areas of city will be in Rs. 3,000-4,500 per square feet range while on the peripheries this rate will be between Rs 2500 and 3,500. Price rise in the residential segment will also be due to supply constraints as there will be limited supply of new housing units. The biggest realty developers active in the city blame government for slowdown in the new project launches. However, these developers promise to come up with new projects in the coming year. Ambuja Realty and Pasari Group will launch two of the biggest residential projects in 2013. The main focus of realty developers would be on areas like Behala, Rajarhat Diamond Harbour Road and EM Bypass. Areas with metro connectivity will remain a major draw for real estate developers.
Source: Article Ratings