Future Perfect For Kolkata's Real Estate Market

The real story growth story of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal and one India's four metros, is quite recent. With a boom in both residential and retail property prices, Kolkata is now counted among the cities where real estate sector has witnessed a substantial growth. According to National Housing bank (NHB) Residex, real estate in Kolkata has grown around five percent, equal to that in Chennai, Ahmedabad and Surat.

For years, developers in Kolkata focused on real estate, which catered to the affordable category, with sporadic developments within the city. However, that has changed, after the demand for housing shot up with huge supply constraints. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) have also been eyeing the real estate here, boosting the demand further. Property prices appreciated in Kolkata, inviting more developers to come with bigger projects here. A look at how Kolkata become a realty hub.

Appreciating prices

Kolkata might be a late entrant into the realty game when compared with other metros, but the city has seen growth slowly picking up. Since the demand increased, property prices in Kolkata have appreciated around 25-30 per cent in past three-four years. In fact, Kolkata has beaten the -national Capital Region (NCR) and India's financial capital Mumbai in terms of growth in average property prices in past two years.

New developments

With a host of new-age apartments, home buyers in Kolkata can enjoy amenities such as modular kitchens, premium flooring and fitting options --- a concept new to the city dwellers. Such properties have emerged as a favourite among the younger generation and the transit population to the city, spurring a fresh demand. Non-resident India (NRIs) seeing Kolkata as a retirement/investment option are also investing in such properties.

Fresh realty hubs

Development activity in Kolkata was restricted to some areas only till recently. The next phase of development is going beyond. Be it the planned township of Rajarhat or the posh Garia, the upper middle-class area of Behala, the urban set-up of Barasat or the EM Bypass, there are many new areas kicking developments in pockets of the city. This is a clear indication of long-term growth prospects of the realty estate in Kolkata. It also indicates different locations being developed with tags that are suitable for each segment, which means there is demand for home across sections.

Improved infrastructure

An old infrastructure and a low connectivity is a thing of past in Kolkata. The Municipal Corporation is working on various projects to develop infrastructure within and beyond the city. One of these is the East-West Corridor, which travels under the Hubli river. It stretches from the Railway Station to the Salt Lake City. The city also has a metro rail network, one the country's oldest. The government is also planning to expand the network with five new metro lines, connecting the IT city at Salt Lake, Joka, Noapara and New , bringing more areas of the city closer.

Affordability

Kolkata has a combination of real estate projects that still fall under the affordable category. While an upmarket 3BHK apartment in Kolkata at Rajarhat costs anywhere between Rs 1.5 and Rs 2 crore, there are buildings that have 2BHK flats at around Rs 38-36 lakh. A majority of the high-end 2BHK apartments cost between Rs 50-60 lakh on an average.

(Katya Naidu has been working as a business journalist for the last nine years, and has covered beats across banking, pharma, healthcare, telecom, technology, power, infrastructure, shipping and commodities.)