If you are looking for a property to invest in Kolkata, this is just the right time. Several reports suggest that the Kolkata real estate market is recording a temporary dip in the prices.
A recent report by Liases Foras, an independent, non-brokerage realty research company, states that the average property price in Kolkata had declined from Rs. 4386per sq ft in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 to Rs 4,256 in the first quarter of 2018-19. The dip in the realty prices is said to be 3 percent.
Not only the dip in the prices, Kolkata real estate presently has huge unsold inventory. Against 45,414 unsold units in April-June 2017, the city presently has approx. 61,307 unsold units in the same period. In fact, in the past ten months, a whopping 10, 364 units have been added in the city’s inventory.
Owing to the huge inventory, developers in Kolkata are reportedly offering huge discounts and freebies to boost the sales. The recent dip in the prices will just be an icing on the cake if you are ready to plunge into the Kolkata realty market.
However, the dip in the prices will not last very long. Major developers in the city are reportedly hopeful that a turnaround in the prices will soon happen due to the hike in the sales in the coming few months.
“We have sold more units in the past three months,” Merlin group chairman and vice-president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), Sushil Mohta, told TOI. “Against 400 units that we sold last year, we are confident of selling 700 units this year.”
Affordable housing segment is one of the biggest players in Kolkata’s realty market, so much so that 78 percent units sold are priced at less than Rs. 50 lakhs. However, Mohta admitted that sale of housing units of more than Rs. 1 Cr will remain a challenge.
It is noteworthy here that RERA is yet to come into effect in West Bengal. Evidently, delay in the appointment of the regulatory authority to oversee state’s RERA will continue to play a dampener as compared to post-RERA effect seen in other states.