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.