Greater Kolkata saw registrations of 6,709 residential sale documents in July 2022, a rise of 124% year-on-year (YoY) over July 2022, according to Knight Frank.
This high annual growth is due to the urgency to avail the benefit of the reduced stamp duty before the closure of the rebate window. The stamp duty cut was initially proposed in mid-July 2021, post which, the market sentiments towards home ownership continued to improve. July 2022 is the second-best month in terms of sales registration volume after August 2021. On a month-on-month basis, July 2022 also recorded a strong 120% increase over the properties registered in June 2022.
As the third extension of the stamp duty cut rebate is set to draw towards the end of September 2022, many homebuyers are completing their property purchases and registrations to avail the benefit of a low stamp duty levy before any further rise in home loan rates. Since the stamp duty cut announcement, 50,898 residential properties have been registered in Greater Kolkata. The numbers captured in all residential sales documents registered with flat/apartment sizes mentioned, the registration data comprises of 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 nearly half or 49% of the total registrations in July 2022. The bigger unit sizes of more than 93 sq m (more than 1,001 sq ft) comprised 25% share in the total pie. Smaller units of up to 46 sq m (up to 500 sq ft) comprised a 26% share of the total.
North Zone and South Zone continued to be the best performing zones in terms of home sales in July 2022.The share of North Zone expanded from 33% of the total in July 2021 to 39% in July 2022 as affordable and mid-segment ticket sizes gained traction from homebuyers. The South Zone witnessed a moderate growth in its share from 31% in July 2021 to 33% in July 2022.
Commenting on the same, Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said, “Despite the recent rise in home loan rates, strong home buying trend has continued in Kolkata in July 2022, strengthening the premise that latent demand for homes is strong and with the right stimulation will propel the residential market. Further, the fact that limited amount of time remains before stamp duty rebate expires, automatically raising the outflow towards home buying and the possibility of another rise in home loan rates, has instilled a sense of urgency, pushing fence sitters to complete their purchases. Going forward, we expect the momentum to remain intact at least till the stamp duty rebate lasts.”