Knight Frank India, noted the registration of 5,819 residential sales documents in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) in September 2022, a 7% decrease over August 2022. September 2022 saw the highest number of residential sales agreements being registered since the inception of the stamp duty window in July 2021.
The stamp duty cut was initially proposed in mid-July 2021, post which, the market sentiment toward homeownership continued to improve. In September 2022, the 2% stamp duty rebate was extended yet again to December 31st, 2022. This move to provide further relief to homebuyers is expected to accelerate sales in the residential sector at a time when home loan interest rates continue to climb northwards and housing affordability has been under stress due to the 190-basis point cumulative repo rate hike in 2022.
Since the stamp duty cut announcement, 62,955 residential properties have been registered in Greater Kolkata. The numbers capture all residential sales documents registered with flat/apartment sizes mentioned, the registration data comprised transactions in both the primary and secondary markets.
Of the various configurations, homes in the range of 47-92 sq m (501-1,000 sq ft) continued to account for the maximum share of 46% of the total registrations in September 2022. The bigger unit sizes of more than 93 sq m (more than 1,001 sq ft) comprised a 30% share of the total pie. Smaller units of up to 46 sq m (up to 500 sq ft) comprised a 24% share of the total.
North Zone and South Zone continued to be the best-performing zones in September 2022. Both these zones comprised 66% of properties registered in during the month. The share of the North Zone expanded substantially from 28% of the total in September 2021 to 46% in September 2022. The South Zone’s share shrank from 31% of the total in September 2021 to 20% in September 2022. Rajarhat’s share improved from 3% to 8% in the same period, while the Central and East zones share remained at par.