Greater Kolkata property registrations see 114% YoY jump in June 2022: Report

Citing the reason for the jump in registrations, KFI said a low base of properties registered in June 2021 which was marred by the severe second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

Compared to previous one-year period, the first anniversary of the stamp duty cut tenure translates into a 20 per cent YoY rise. While on a month-on-month (MoM) comparison, June 2022 witnessed a 28 per cent decline in properties registrations.

Table 1: Monthly Residential Sales Deeds Registered: January 2021 – June 2022

(Source: Directorate of Registrations and Stamps Revenue, Government of West Bengal; Knight Frank India Research

*Includes all types of apartment sales documents registered with flat/apartment sizes captured at the time of registration of the property)

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The monthly slowdown in properties being registered is noted as many buyers have already completed their property purchases due to the applicability of the stamp duty rebate for nearly a year now. Also, the two repo rate hikes – leading to rise in home loan rates – have affected the homebuyer affordability.

According to the data, compiled between July 2020 – June 2021 vs. July 2021 – June 2022, the maximum growth on MoM basis was seen on August 2021 at 144 per cent, while the YoY growth was 268 per cent. In May 2022, the MoM growth was 29 per cent and the YoY growth was 230 per cent. In total, between July 2021 to June 2022, 44,189 properties were registered in Greater Kolkata with a 20 per cent YoY increase.

Table 2: Residential Sales Deeds Registered: July 2020 – June 2021 vs. July 2021 – June 2022

(Source: Directorate of Registrations and Stamps Revenue, Government of West Bengal; Knight Frank India Research

*Includes all types of apartment sales documents registered with flat/apartment sizes captured at the time of registration of the property)

Table 3: Apartment Size Analysis Comparison:

(Source: Knight Frank India Research)

Considering the apartment size analysis, homes in the range of 501-1,000 sq ft continued to account for the highest share of 47 per cent of the total registrations in June 2022. The bigger unit sizes of more than 1,001 sq ft comprised 26 per cent share in the total pie. Smaller units of up to 500 sq ft comprised a 27 per cent share of the total.

In terms of areas, North Zone and South Zone continued to remain the best performing zones in June 2022. The share of North Zone expanded from 28% of the total in June 2021 to 52 per cent in June 2022 as affordable and mid-segment ticket sizes gained traction from homebuyers. The East Zone witnessed a growth in its share from 12 per cent in June 2021 to 15 per cent in June 2022 due to sustained demand from homebuyers.

Commenting on the latest release, Knight Frank India’s MD Shishir Baijal said, “In the one-year since introduction of stamp duty rebate in West Bengal we have noted a 20% YoY growth in residential properties registered compared to the previous one-year period. There is however a month on month decline in property registrations in June 2022. A 90-basis point repo rate hike has impacted home loan rates which may have played a role in this slowdown.”

“While we do not anticipate a pronounced dent in demand for new homes in the short term, as in affordability terms Kolkata remains well within the affordable range, rising loan rates and indeed the availability of the stamp duty rebate right up to September 2022 may delay decision making in the short term. Nonetheless, Kolkata is a price sensitive market and in H1 2022 it registered a 4% rise in average prices. A change in total outflow towards home ownership may disrupt the demand momentum,” he added.

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