Does The Kolkata Real Estate Sector Have Growth Prospects in 2017- 2018?

With the multitude of flats coming up in Kolkata and the implementation of GST and RERA is sure to bring more buyers, Kolkata real estate is sure to see a boom in the 2017- 2018 period. The developments in the city have been massive in recent times and although it was expected that the demonetization would eventually slow down real estate, nothing of that sort had actually happened. There has been a 30% increase in the last three years and it had been a mix of new projects in Kolkata in entirely new localities as well as redevelopments of familial properties. The people in Kolkata have always been emotional and many families held on to their ancestral properties, in spite of finding it hard to maintain the huge buildings. 

Now the buildings built till the 1960s are finally being pulled down with these properties being handed over to the promoters who are making apartment buildings in its place and the home owners who have sold off their building are given a flat or two depending upon the deal. Some of the major areas of the city to see this kind of redevelopment are Ballygunge, Bhowanipore, Gariahat, Alipore and Park Street, along with certain pockets of North Kolkata.

North Kolkata did not have many high rise properties and frankly speaking, the core areas of the city have long been saturated, which resulted in the growth of areas like New Town, Rajarhat and Baranagar. New Town and Rajarhat cam into focus after the IT boom in Sector V and most of the families living here are that of the young professionals who are working in IT. However, the prime areas of the city like Ballygunge, New Alipore, Lake Gardens or Jodhpur Park or Shyambazar has always had their own appeal and owning a small place here, even though it might be small due to budget constraints, can have greater value in the long run than a regular flat in the fringes. 

Moreover, the older houses in Kolkata are huge and they are sold with 5 kathas and 15 kathas parcel and a single katha costs over Rs 1 crore anywhere in the city, whereas land in Park Street, Lansdowne, or Jadavpur are sold at 2.5 crores per katha. Even a small 800 sq feet flat in these locations would cost around Rs 75 lakhs, plus taxes.

North Kolkata has now seen the demolition spree with older properties being pulled down at such a rate now that it had also motivated a group of petitioners to start a campaign to protect the architectural heritage of the city. In the latter of 2016, the region has seen a 15% increase as more land was available here than ever before. The young population moving out of the city is also a major reason behind it, as basically no one is left behind to care for these huge properties anymore and the owners prefer liquidating the property instead.