Kolkata's flat boom

State Update: West Bengal

Consider this: 40 per cent of the flats at a 25-flat complex in Kolkata, a bastion of the Left Front, with price tags varying from Rs 1.6 crore to Rs 3 crore, were booked even before the project was officially launched. The project, Highland Sapphire, is now the most expensive property in the city.

The builder, Sumit Dabriwala of United Credit Belani Properties Ltd (UCBPL), is not exactly nervous about developing such expensive property in a city that has the reputation of being price conscious. "If I get land, I will make 1,000 such dwelling units," he declares confidently.

Dabriwala's confidence is reflected among all the city's real estate developers. They believe there is genuine buyer interest in expensive and expansive property - flats priced at above Rs 40 lakh are selling like hot cakes and those buying these flats are not doing so for investment purposes but people indulging in a new profligate lifestyle.

Rahul Saraf, a prominent real estate developer in Kolkata, says that the city had been starved of luxury apartments. This apart, the influx of information technology (IT) and IT-enabled service companies with executives seeking housing and a vibrant economy have made the Rs 40-lakh plus segment profitable for real estate developers.

Consider Silver Spring on Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, the latest real estate development hot spot in Kolkata. With 10 towers and 504 apartments, over 95 per cent of the complex has been sold out though buyers have to wait another 12 months to enter their flats. Sanjay Bavishi, director of the Bengal Silver Spring project, notes that first generation businessmen constitute a sizable chunk of the buyers.

This runs contrary to popular perceptions that non-resident Indians (NRIs) returning home are buying these properties. Sushil Mohta, managing director of South City projects, said 32 per cent of his units have been sold to NRIs. South City is by far the largest integrated housing project in the city, with 1,600 flats priced between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 60 lakh.

Still, Raj Modi, managing director of Sanjeevani Projects Pvt Ltd, which is developing bungalows in a new township at Rajarhat, says top executives at multinational and leading companies, IT professionals and local businessmen have shown keen interest in the project.

The profile of buyers has undergone a change. Far younger people are buying flats - gone are the days when apartment buyers used to wait till they were in their 50s before thinking of plonking money down for luxury apartments. The average age of someone who applies for home loans is estimated at 29 years in Kolkata.

That's perhaps because cheaper home loans and a wobbly stock market have encouraged the young to look at alternative investment avenues. However, this is only up to a point. People who buy property for over Rs 1 crore are not too keen on taking bank loans.

The Sanjeeva Town in Rajarhat will have 160 bungalows with prices ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 70 lakh. The project is spread over 15 acres of land. People living there will not only buy a 2,000-3,000 sq ft bungalow but a garden plot and a rear lawn. Modi says people will make it their first home and not a weekend retreat. Over 70 per cent of the property has already been sold.

The Highland group is also considering a similar project in Rajarhat, as is Silver Spring. Highland, in association with the state's housing board, is building town houses there priced at Rs 41 lakh to Rs 47 lakh.

"There are hardly any fresh stocks coming up in Ballygunge, New Alipore, Rawdon Street or the Loudon Street area (the posh areas of the city). So any new property is being gobbled up in no time," Pradeep Chopra of the PS Group says. His company is developing a project in south Kolkata's Gurusaday Road area.

A consortium of real estate developers, including Jugal Khetawat and Pradeep Sureka, has bought most of Jain House, which used to be owned by the properietors of Bennett, Coleman and Company and, till recently, was the largest private residence in Kolkata.

The plot, which is located in the upmarket Alipore locality, covers 120 cottahs (one cottah is 732 sq ft). The more than Rs 80-crore residential block will have 40-50 flats of 4,000 and above sq ft, each costing more than Rs 1 crore. The new block wll be targeted at wealthy businessmen and NRIs.

In sum, Job Charnock's City of Joy is getting a makeover of sorts, even if it has yet to spread to other kinds of housing.