Kolkata Metropolitan Region reported that a total of 4,806 apartments were registered in this month, despite fewer working days in February. After a slowdown in property registrations in January 2024 due to the Pausha period, a buoyant uptrend was witnessed in February 2024 marking a 306% month-on-month (MoM) growth. On an annual basis, this represents a strong 64% year-on-year (YoY) growth.
While the stamp duty rebate extension continues to influence the apartment registrations positively, it would benefit the city’s real estate sector if it were made a permanent feature of the market to keep the homebuying sentiment upbeat. The data encompasses transactions in both primary (fresh sale) and secondary (re-sale) markets for residential apartments throughout all periods.
The volume of property registrations in February 2024 also depicts sequential surge in property registrations in the past three years. The share of unit sizes up to 500 sq ft scaled up from 27% in February 2023 to 43% at the end of February 2024. Apartments ranging from 501 to 1,000 sq ft constituted 48% of the total registrations in February 2024. The share of this apartment size category moderated marginally from February 2023 when it constituted 50% of the total. Notably, the share of unit sizes over 1000 sq ft shrunk from 23% to 9% during the same period.
Abhijit Das, Senior Director- East, Knight Frank India, said, “As Kolkata marks its best February property registrations since 2020, the remarkable 64% YoY growth from February 2023 underscores the city's resilience and vitality in the real estate sector. Particularly noteworthy is the extraordinary 165% YoY surge in home registrations for properties sized less than 500 sq ft, reflecting a robust demand for compact living spaces. These impressive figures not only highlight the city's economic buoyancy but also signal a dynamic shift in the preferences of homebuyers, reaffirming Kolkata's position as a thriving real estate market.”
As per the statistics for February 2024, the North Zone topped the micro-market registration tally with a 43% share of Kolkata’s total apartment registrations. A year ago, North Zone ranked at the second-highest position with a 21% share. In the past one year, the share of this zone in the total property registrations has increased to the first rank largely due to availability of affordable housing products which are in demand amongst the price sensitive homebuyers. In February 2024, South Zone was at the second highest position with 33% share. On an annual comparison, the share of this zone has shrunk from 41% to the current levels. The share of Rajarhat remained stable at 6% in the past one year. However, Central, East and West zones witnessed moderation in their shares in the past one year.
