Month: December 2018

Kolkata, traditionally an end-user driven market has exhibited vibrant growth in residential real estate market in the past few years. The core city grows exponentially over time, both towards north and south directions, with corresponding development of social and civic infrastructure due to population explosion and fast urbanization. The same have been the driving force for sustainable demand for affordable residential properties in and around Kolkata.

The realistic value proposition for the residential units, strong market foundation and relatively stable political scenario have given competitive edge for Kolkata over the other metro cities in India. The introduction of HIRA (Housing Industry Regulatory Authority) from 1st June 2018 has further strengthened the market nerves in terms of transparency, accountability and trust. It has been recorded that majority of the ongoing residential projects and just completed projects from reputed builders in city and suburb locations have been showing steady absorption over last few quarters.

Kolkata has witnessed many new launches especially around the city suburb areas like Birati, Madhyamgram, Barasat, Belghoria, Sodepur, Barrackpore etc. in the north and Garia, Boral, Narendrapur, Baruipur, Behala, Thakurpukur, Joka, etc., in the south to meet the continuous demand from the buyers. These areas give good value for money. BT road and Jessore Road are the major northern suburb thoroughfares which have seen rapid construction activities due to gradually improving transport and civic facilities and the availability of suburban railway network running parallel to these roads. In the southern suburbs, the fast development and metro connectivity alongside of the long stretches of Diamond Harbour Road (Joka, Thakurpur, Amtala) and NSC Bose Road (Tollygunj-Garia-Baruipur) have been instrumental for its transformation as a preferred zone of affordable residential settlement. The PMAY (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna) scheme of affordable housing has also stimulated the overall market demand.

The transaction of the properties in Rajarhat-New Town area are also taking right pace as the entire locality gradually upgrades its basic infrastructure, offerings of social amenities during last few quarters. Moreover, smooth connectivity and the proposed expansion of metro railway network to link the core city and other suburb areas give added feature for the ongoing and upcoming properties to attract potential buyers. Additionally, this satellite township continues to draw the attention of IT professionals due to its proximity to Salt Lake Sector V, the well-developed IT hub of Kolkata. Apart from its importance in terms of IT, New Town has also become hub of education, healthcare, hospitality and recreation.

The EM Bypass and adjoining neighbourhood have rapidly changed the skyline of the eastern fringe areas of the city during last decade and still continue to attract the hi-end buyers with the superior residential projects amidst greenery and excellent all-round transport connectivity. EM Bypass can be also regarded as the emerging lifeline of the city connecting the north and south seamlessly. The upcoming Garia-Airport Metro connectivity has also increased the demand of properties. The premium residential projects around the well-established posh localities in Kolkata like Alipore, Ballygunge and some selected south central city locations generate limited supply targeted for niche segment of citizens in Kolkata along with steady appreciation of property values backed by sufficient demand.

Howrah, the adjoining twin-city of Kolkata in the west, traditionally recognized as the industrial hinterland of Kolkata, is undergoing a speedy transformation into a residential destination and subsequently witnessed growing interest for housing as both demand and supply have increased over the period due to improvement of road infrastructure, under construction east-west metro railway linkage and easy connectivity options to the main business areas of Kolkata. The locations close to Vidyasagar setu, Kona expressway, Andul Road, Belgharia Expressway-Nibedita setu (the major connectors between Kolkata and NH2/Delhi Road & NH6/ Bombay Road) have gradually become hot picks for organized residential settlement.

The rental property transactions in Kolkata also witnessed a positive trends and value appreciation during the last few quarters in various sub-markets in Kolkata due to increasing demand for rental housing, mostly from the outstation workforce of the expanding IT/ITeS sector. The rental values saw steady growth in the past one year in some residential pockets of Kolkata. It is anticipated that the demand for rental homes from IT professionals, students, retailers and immigrants from across the eastern cities and other regions of India would push the rental values in micro pockets and this trend is expected to continue in the near future.
Service apartments, another relatively new concept, has picked up in Kolkata over the last few years. These are the ready-to-move-in flats that provide the occupant a fully-furnished unit along with optional facilities such as creche, chef, Wi-Fi connection and a 24×7 service kitchen. Enhanced volume of foreign tourists, frequent & prolonged business trips in the corporate sector and increased investor interest has made service apartments a sought after property segment in the city. It is expected to rise further, as the visitors/tourists now prefer to stay in these apartments over hotel rooms, due to their cost-effectiveness and for this reason the rental values for such properties have witnessed significant push in the last year.

As the matter of fact, these apartments create huge interest amongst the investors. The demand for rental apartments is primarily seen for 2 BHK units. Usually, IT professionals from other states and business travellers cover approximatel. 80% of demand for such apartments as tenants. Presently, Rajarhat and Salt Lake areas have the maximum supply for service apartments because of its proximity to Sector V, the IT hub of Kolkata and the international airport. The areas in south and central Kolkata such as Park Circus, adjacent locations of EM Bypass, Park Street, Ballygunge etc. also witness good demand due to their connectivity to the railway station and metro network.

n essence, Kolkata’s residential real estate market is experiencing huge growth and affordability, transparency and accountability are the core premises. 

Eastern Metropolitan Bypass or EM Bypass can be reckoned as one of the major lifelines of Kolkata which has moved much ahead of the curve in transforming the city’s realty skyline. The adjoining neighbourhood of this 21 Km stretch has metamorphosed both residential and commercial real estate dynamics to altogether new levels in the recent years. At this juncture, I would like to share its growth story and present its current picture with you.

Starting from Ultadanga in the north till Kamalgazi in the south, the thoroughfare can be subdivided into three main segments i.e. North (Ultadanga to Chingrighata), Central (Chingrighata to Ruby) and South (Ruby to Kamalgazi). Connectivity, mobility, infrastructural development, pro-active governmental policies, affordability and luxury value propositions are the major drivers that have leveraged the necessary resources for organized real estate growth in and around the stretch.

If we consider the northern segment i.e. Ultadanga to Chingrighata, high-end apartments with exclusive facilities and amenities drive the aggregate market demand. This stretch plugs directly with the IT hubs of Salt Lake and Rajarhat in the east, Central and North Kolkata. International hotel chains like Hyatt Regency, malls like Mani Square and FBB, movie theatres like Inox and Cinemax, entertainment zones like Swabhumi, stadium like Salt Lake Stadium, hospitals like Apollo Gleneagles, AMRI, Columbia Asia and premium car showrooms like Volkswagen have literally enhanced the grandiose appeal of the area. The residential capital values in this stretch of EM Bypass ranges between Rs.7000 to Rs.11,000 per square feet.

The Central segment i.e. Chingrighata to Ruby has spearheaded uniquely in providing the residents some of the best apartments in the city. In this respect, Christopher Road off this stretch is a prosperous neighbourhood which is worth mentioning boasting off with some ultra luxury apartments. The upcoming 4.2 Km flyover from Parama Island to Park Circus will further strengthen the connectivity platform. Hospitality industry in this stretch has gained robust foothold with two world class hotels like ITC Sonar and Taj Gateway providing round the clock obtrusive services. US based luxury hotel chain JW Mariott is expanding their base here. ITC is also increasing their niche hospitality exposure through further expansion. Fine dining is also another important characteristic of this stretch. Restaurants like Mainland China, Sigree, Oh!Calcutta and Sanjha Chulha give the best food experiences in the town. Apart from that, reputed hospitals like Ruby Hospital, Desun and Fortis, car showrooms like BMW, Toyota, Chevrolet and Hyundai, schools like Delhi Public School, Heritage and Calcutta International School, entertainment and educational zones like Science City and Energy Education Park and newspaper headquarter Bartaman Bhawan make this stretch of EM Bypass one of the realty hotspots in the city.

The southern segment i.e. Ruby to Kamalgazi leads the pack in blending affordability and luxury in the right proportion. Suburban growth is a reality in Kolkata and this stretch is an indispensible part of that growth. Connectivity, mobility and affordability are three potential drivers that lure the residential real estate market of this stretch. Mainly, from Garia to Kamalgazi, demand for MIG segment housing is prolific. The residential capital values in this stretch ranges between Rs.3500 to Rs.5000 per square feet and gated communities within the range of Rs.30 to Rs.70 lacs are readily available. Fully operational metro rail and suburban railways, widening of road, pollution free environment, presence of reputed educational institutions, hospitals and shopping malls among others are some prospective features that have stimulated the end user’s demand as well as that of the investors. To name a few, shopping mall like Metropolis, hospitals like Peerless, Rabindranath Tagore Institute of Cardiac Sciences & Medica Superspeciality, institution like Satyajit Ray Film Institute have largely propelled the buying sentiments. Adding to that, the Kolkata BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) from Ultadanga to EM Bypass will be also operational soon that will add new dimension to the connectivity domain.

Lastly, it can be stated that EM Bypass is one of the nerve centres of Kolkata’s real estate market that has grown exponentially over time and in the current scenario it disseminates immense potential.




Not much before the Act
The importance of agents or consultants in an organized real estate market is pivotal. The consultants act as a compact bridge between the buyers and sellers and help in facilitating smooth transactions and thereby equilibrate the market forces evenly. However, the importance of the consultants before the introduction of the revolutionary reform RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Act) has not been so much prominent and given due importance. However, it is matter of fact that around 75% of sales in the primary market are driven by the real estate consultants.

Changed scenario & conducive environment
The introduction of RERA has changed the scenario and strengthened the role of the real estate consultants significantly all over India. The real estate consultants need to register, get verified and certified by the authority in order to facilitate transactions in the market. As the consultants are managed under the RERA provisions, investors and home buyers’ trust have increased immensely and this is also calibrating the market transactions.

Core professionalism and trust
Yes, professionalism and trust are really ingrained to the core post RERA. The consultants are much more responsible now as they will have to disclose all appropriate information to the buyers and adhere with only RERA compliant developers. In a gradual manner, there is complete elimination of fly by night players in the market and only organized market mechanism prevail.

The three drivers for the consultants’ market in the current scenario are accountability, transparency and trust!