A spike in property sales and registrations, following the twin sops announced for home buyers in this year’s state budget, have led developers in Kolkata to expect record sales this year in the real estate sector, an industry that was in troubled waters in the last three years.
As many as 39,832 property registrations were completed in Kolkata between January and October, a little more than double the number (19,876) of the corresponding period last year. With three more months of sops to follow, the industry is hopeful of an “unprecedented” good show.
“The sales have been phenomenal since July, when the government announced a 2% reduction in stamp duty and a 10% cut in circle rates for registration of properties,” said President, Bengal chapter of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI). “I believe transactions will now accelerate even further in the next three months,” he added.
Between July and October, the directorate of registration and stamp revenue clocked 19,843 registrations, up from 9,351 registrations of the corresponding period last year. Sources said they expected the registration number to cross 50,000 in the next three months. “The 2021-2022 fiscal will easily be the best we have seen,” said Sanjay Jain, chairman of a real estate group. “The registration figures till October are a mix of new units sold and homes and apartments purchased earlier that had not been registered. But, from November, it will predominantly be driven by new home sales, as customers are ready to avail themselves of the stamp duty cut,” he added.
Sales data of new homes for the July-September quarter shows that sales during the quarter this — 6,861 — is almost double that of the 3,921 units in the corresponding period last year. Also, it is 125% more than Q3 2019, at 6,861.
Demand stimulants, such as that taken by the state government, have a manifold impact, not only on the residential real estate sector but also on the economy at large. With sustained momentum in buying, we expect supply to also pick pace, leading to more employment and greater prosperity”.
The largest number of registrations have happened in north Kolkata — 43% — followed by south Kolkata at 34%. In terms of unit size, apartments over 500 Sq. Ft witnessed a 260% year -on-year growth. In the 500 Sq. Ft – 1,000 Sq. Ft category, 2,275 units were registered this October, up from 631 units last year. In apartments sized over 1,000 Sq. Ft, 1,227 units were registered in October, up from 341 units registered in October 2020.
The President of CREDAI West Bengal, said the high demand was not only leading to inventory reduction, but it was also an opportunity for developers to raise prices, without it being passed on to buyers. “The last few years recovery, catalysed by the state government sops and aided by low home loan interest rates as well as pent-up demand, was needed for the industry to stay healthy and drive Bengal’s growth,” he said.
The high sales have already reduced inventory, that was beginning to worry among builders. Many builders who had shifted to cost-saving mode and cut salaries as well as jobs are now looking to hire manpower again. “Salaries have long been restored. The growth demand is also putting pressure on manpower, and hence there will be additional recruitments that will happen on that front as well,” said CREADI India president.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/