Home Sales In Kolkata Jump 62 Percent In 2021: Report

The residential market in the metropolis witnessed a 62 per cent growth Y-o-Y in 2021 with 14,405 housing units sold during the year, according to a report released on Thursday. New launches also saw a whopping rise of 81 per cent year-on-year with the addition of 7,510 units in the last calendar year, Knight Frank India said in its second half-yearly study of 2021.

The spectacular growth in sales during the year was largely due to a strong performance in the second half, and as a result, 2021 recorded the highest sales in the primary residential market in the past five years. "Around 64 per cent of the total primary market sales of 2021 in Kolkata was achieved in H2 (July-December) alone, as two per cent government rebate on stamp duty for property registrations played a crucial role in the rejuvenation of the residential market," the report said.

South and North remained the most favoured micro-markets accounting for 36 per cent and 27 per cent of H2 2021 sales respectively. The share of ticket size of less than Rs 50 lakh continued to lead sales volume of 64 per cent of the total market share during the second half of the year, it said. The home and office realty market in the city has shown "resilience" despite COVID-19 challenges during the year, the report said.

The total office transactions in 2021 stood at 0.8 mn sq ft. New completions in the year for office space was recorded at 0.6 mn sq ft. In the office sector, the city observed a strong demand bounce-back in H2 with the October-December period of 2021 witnessing the highest transaction volume of the four quarters of the year and a 234 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth over the July-September period. Co-working spaces emerged stronger from the pandemic influence with a 17 per cent share in transactions in H2 2021.

The banking, financial services and insurance sector also witnessed a growth in the market share from merely one per cent in the second half of 2020 to 9 per cent in the corresponding period last calendar year. However, the IT sector, which had accounted for 43 per cent of Kolkata's transaction volume in the July-December period of 2020, has shrunk to 23 per cent in H2 2021, the report said. This is mainly because of cautious leasing by IT sector occupiers as the pandemic evolves, it added.

(PTI)