As many as 1,593 apartment sale documents were registered in Greater Kolkata in February 2022. This represents a 33 percent month-on-month decline over January 2022, as per data by the Directorate of Registrations and Stamps Revenue, Government of West Bengal.
Since the initial announcement of stamp duty reduction on July 7, 2021, many homebuyers waiting for demand stimulants have completed their property registration process. Since the rebate was introduced, 28,935 homes have been sold in Greater Kolkata till February 2022, an analysis by Knight Frank India said.
Despite the strong momentum in the initial months since the reduction in stamp duty, there has been a gradual decline, as many homebuyers completed their home buying process early. Also, since the sop is available till the end of March 2022, sales in February were gradual as homebuyers did not have a sense of urgency to take advantage of the discount, it said.
The registration data captured is for all residential sales documents registered with flat/apartment sizes mentioned and encompassed transactions in both the primary and the secondary market.
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Of the various configurations, homes in the range of 47-92 sq m (501-1,000 sq ft) accounted for 43 percent of the total registrations in February 2022. While homes above the size of 93 sq m (1000 sq ft) accounted for approximately 32 percent of homes sold in February 2022.
There has been a 67 percent YoY decline in both apartments up to 46 sq m (0-500 sq ft) as well as unit sizes of 47-92 sq m (500-1,000 sq ft). Unit sizes above 93 sq m and above (1,001 sq ft and above) registered a 61 percent YoY de-growth during the same period.
In line with past trends, peripheral micro-markets continued to remain popular amongst homebuyers. South Zone saw its share increase from 30 percent in February 2021 to 37 percent in February 2022. The North Zone held it’s share steady at 30 percent in February 2022. Rajarhat, too, noted its share rise from 4 percent in February 2021 to 8 percent in February 2022.
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West, on the other hand, noted a massive drop in its share from 19 percent in February 2021 to 6 percent in February 2022. This is primarily due to lack of residential inventory in this micro-market, which reflects in the low numbers recorded.
“The rush to get homes registered while the stamp duty cut is in effect has slowed down in Kolkata. Even though the registrations were lower in February 2022, the impetus to purchase new homes may strengthen in March 2022 as the sop expires on 31st March 2022. If the relief measures are further continued in the next financial year, it will help catalyse the latent demand in the primary market, especially as developers may very soon be forced to raise prices on account of rising input costs,” said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.
