Kolkata’s real estate market has been in the throes of a recovery and in another round of encouraging news for prospective buyers, studies have shown that the City of Joy is the most affordable metropolis in India for buying property. Kolkata offers all necessary amenities along with ample power supply and water along with having good connectivity and a solid transportation network. Average property prices in the city are the lowest at Rs. 4, 405 per sq. ft. which is lower than even Chennai and Hyderabad. The affordable housing category, i.e. homes priced lower than Rs. 40 lakhs, continues to be a major segment in the Kolkata housing market which is deemed to be slightly price sensitive. Property prices for the Kolkata Metropolitan Area have been taken into account for these reports.
The KMA now covers areas such as Uttarpara, Narendrapur, Sodepur and Barrackpore among others.
Kolkata is divided into 5 zones, namely central, south, west, east and north. Experts attribute lower prices of property to comparatively lower prices of land. Apartments even in Hyderabad, Pune and Bangalore are priced higher than Kolkata in spite of increasing construction costs and interest rates. The average property price in Mumbai stands at Rs. 10, 500 per sq. ft. which is the costliest in the country and in Pune, the rates are Rs. 5, 465 per sq. ft. while they are Rs. 4, 935 per sq. ft. in Chennai. The property rates are Rs. 4, 900 per sq. ft. in Bangalore followed by Rs. 4, 550 per sq. ft. in NCR (National Capital Region) and Rs. 4, 600 per sq. ft. in Hyderabad.
Kolkata’s real estate market has a few unique characteristics as per several experts since it is price sensitive and reacts quickly to demand and supply mismatches whenever they arise in the market. The unsold inventory in Kolkata has been estimated at less than 50, 000 units which is lower than Pune and Bangalore. However, sales of homes are lower in Kolkata and clearing this inventory will require close to 14 quarters as per estimates. However, with the new IT policy and other commercial progress along with widespread development in suburban areas and outskirts of the city, things may soon improve for the realty market as per studies.
Close to 1, 25, 000 housing units have been launched in Kolkata between 2013 and Q3 2018 according to reports. In this period, 86, 000 units have roughly been absorbed with the highest volumes witnessed in the year 2016. Some of the upcoming projects in Kolkata include Shriram Grand One, Shapoorji Pallonji Joyville and Merlin Maximus among many others.
