Latest Property News on 'Kolkata'

Kolkata Office Space Rentals Remain High

For those who believe Kolkata as a business destination has been out of favour after the unceremonious exit of Tata Motors’ Nano project in October 2008, a realty check offers an interesting insight into the reality. Office space rentals in Kolkata remains higher than the more fancied Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, a clear indication that business demand is still robust. Only Mumbai and Delhi have more expensive office space.

A study by global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield revealed that the Burrabazar-BBD-Esplanade area-Park Street belt that comprises Kolkata’s central business district (CBD) commands a rent of Rs 98/sqft, way over Gurgaon prime commercial (Rs 77), Bangalore CBD (Rs 73), Pune CBD (Rs 55), Chennai CBD (Rs 55) and Hyderabad CBD (Rs 50). What’s even more surprising is that rents in Kolkata have been least affected by the downturn that sparked a major price correction in the real estate sector across the country. While rent in the city’s CBD is down 7% against last year, the rentals erosion elsewhere is 10% to 28%. Read More »

Real Estate Developers Reviving Big-Ticket Projects in Kolkata

Real estate developers are reviving big-ticket projects in Kolkata after securing a commitment from the West Bengal government that “some kind of incentive” would be offered to help them emerge from the downturn. The projects had been halted for at least 18 months. States such as Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have already announced incentives for real estate developers. Maharashtra has raised the so-called floor space index, or FSI, a measure of the amount of covered space that a developer can set up on a plot of land. Uttar Pradesh is asking developers to put up a smaller amount than before at the time of allotment for state government projects.

“Demands (for incentives) from real estate developers are reasonable,” said Asok Bhattacharya, West Bengal’s minister for urban development. “We are examining the legal aspects and hope to announce some kind of incentive soon.” Road to recovery: An under-construction complex in Rajarhat, Kolkata. Consultants say real estate prices in Kolkata have begun to firm up. Road to recovery: An under-construction complex in Rajarhat, Kolkata. Consultants say real estate prices in Kolkata have begun to firm up. Among those restarting construction of key projects in Kolkata are Emaar MGF Land Ltd, which plans to build two 250-room hotels under the JW Marriott and Holiday Inn brands, and local players such as Dhoot Developers Pvt. Ltd, South City Projects (Kolkata) Ltd and Merlin Projects Ltd, which are building large commercial complexes in partnership with the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority, or KMDA—an arm of the state government. Read More »

Kolkata Sees Rise in Commercial Real Estate Segment

After a lull last year, demand for commercial property is steadily rising. Realtors and developers feel market conditions should return to normal, although no one knows how long it will take. “It is definitely en route to revival. There may not be many transactions, but enquiry levels have increased around 30 per cent compared with January. It is a good sign. There is more demand for commercial spaces in the non-IT sphere,” said Abhijit Das, joint managing director of Lemongrass Advisors.

Jitendra Khaitan, CEO, Pioneer Property Management, said, “Demand for commercial property is rising. There are large transactions. Prices for commercial property in central Kolkata have already appreciated,” he said, adding that there used to be 10-20 transactions per month six months ago. However, there are about 100 transactions a month now. Most of the prominent real estate developers said demand for commercial property was rising and the future looked better than what it was six months ago. Santosh Rungta, president, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI), said, “We expect the commercial real estate sector to revive in six to eight months. IT companies are reviving and demand for office spaces will gradually pick up. The overall industry has started recovering from the economic slowdown and is preparing to resume operations on a larger scale. Therefore, it seems likely that demand for office spaces will rise according to requirements.” Read More »

Kolkata Sees Fastest Property Price Rise among Metros

Property values in Kolkata have risen at the fastest pace among Indian metros since 2007, according to the National Housing Bank’s (NHB) Residex—an index of property prices. Property values in Kolkata rose by an average of 16.8% while those in Bangalore fell by 15.6% in the period. Fewer speculative deals and lower base prices saw the eastern Indian metropolis outpace hotter property markets such as Mumbai and Delhi, where property values rose at a comparatively sedate average of 7.5% and 7.3%, respectively.

The NHB residex, which was launched in July 2007, measures property prices in six-monthly intervals. The index currently captures data submitted by a variety of sources, including housing finance companies and real estate agents, for 15 cities, with plans to widen the index to 63 so-called tier I cities and state capitals in the future. Of the 15 cities, only the West Bengal capital Kolkata, Faridabad in the national capital region, and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh saw average double-digit growth in this period. NHB officials said one of the reasons for Kolkata’s numbers was people investing the proceeds of the Sixth Pay Commission payouts last year. Cities such as Jaipur, on the other hand, saw declines because of massive oversupply, said Raj Pal, a principal adviser with NHB. Read More »

Assocham to Submit Study on Land Acquisition Policy to WB Govt

Even as it retained its optimism on West Bengal as an attractive investment destination, apex industry association Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said that it would shortly place before the West Bengal Government, a comparative study on land acquisition policy and status in other States while also outlining a futuristic industrial policy that the State could follow.

Assocham President Swati Piramal said that the State lacked investment in knowledge industry. Areas such as digital music and new media could also be developed in the State, she felt. Chamber Secretary General D. S. Rawat said after a joint pressmeet that the chamber had met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday and it agreed to submit draft papers on public-private partnership in the health sector and industry-education partnership. Read More »

Kolkata Govt Holding Plots to Get Better Prices

The economy might be on the recovery path, but state government agencies, such as KMDA or Hidco, are still going slow in auctioning or selling plots to developers for commercial and residential real-estate projects. The agencies are waiting for the economy to improve further so that they can get the most out of it by auctioning off their land. KMDA has plans to auction about 100 acres at Nonadanga for setting up a business park and another three-acre plot off Barrackpore-Kalyani Expressway for a commercial complex. The bidding process for another 18-acre plot off Kona Expressway, which was supposed to have taken place in July, is on hold after a court case.

Officials, however, said that they are waiting for things to improve further before starting off with these projects as real estate developers may still not be interested in paying astronomical prices for these plots at this moment. “The recession had badly affected real estate prices. Though the situation is improving, developers may still not be interested in buying these plots for huge sums at the moment. We will re-start the process once the recession dies down and the market becomes favourable again,” said an official. In fact, KMDA is working on retrieving about 150 acres of land that it had lost track of in and around the city. Read More »

Sharp Drop in Kolkata Office Rentals

If you had any doubts about new business ventures giving Kolkata the miss, here’s damning proof that should send the alarm bells ringing loud and clear. Vacancy levels have shot up with nearly a quarter of the available office space finding no takers between July and September. Though office space across the city has been hit by the poor business sentiment, peripheral locations like Rajarhat and Salt Lake are the worst affected with the IT and ITeS industry giving the city a cold shoulder in recent months. Significant infusion of new supply has also accentuated the problem in this belt, leading to a sharp drop in rentals.

Global real estate solutions firm Cushman & Wakefield, which researched on office space, expects the current situation to persist, triggering a further rise in vacancy levels. “There will be a prolonged situation of over-supply unless significant space uptake occurs in the market. Due to the current trend of low demand, there may be deferrals in certain projects to later periods,” a researcher said. Rentals of office space for both corporates and IT/ITeS firms in Rajarhat have nosedived by a whopping 31% in the July-September 2009 against the corresponding period last year. In Salt Lake, IT/ITeS space rentals has crashed by 29%. Corporate space in Sector V is slightly better off with rentals taking a 22% dip. Read More »

Milestone Real Estate Fund Invests Rs 1.10 bn in Kolkata Project of Godrej Properties

Milestone Real Estate Fund, a securities and exchange board of India (SEBI) registered venture capital fund has invested Rs 1.10 billion into a residential project in Kolkata. Jointly developed by Milestone and Godrej Properties, this 3 million square feet project aims to bring a prestigious residential complex to Kolkata.

Announcing this, Ved Prakash Arya, Group CEO and MD, Milestone Group said, “We are very happy to associate with the Godrej brand. Recognizing the need for quality housing projects in India, we have decided on this venture, due to our partner`s excellent track record when it comes to quality and value for money in design & facilities. This project being in the mid-segment housing sector holds great promise and value for home buyers.“ Read More »

Provide Land Meant for Real Estate to set up IT Companies- Nasscom Asks WB Govt

In the wake of West Bengal scraping a proposed IT township project after a land scam at Vedic Village, industry body Nasscom today said the state government should provide land to IT companies from its real estate pool. “The Government has enough land. It has land in Rajarhat township, but it is meant for real estate. Government has to choose whether it wants employment by offering land to IT companies or just make buildings,” Nasscom Eastern Regional Council Chairman V V R Babu told reports on the sidelines of a CEOs Summit here. The West Bengal Government had early this month shelved the IT township project at Rajarhat in North 24 Parganas, where Wipro and Infosys were supposed to set up their units, after allegations of irregularities in allocation of land for the luxury Vedic Village resort surfaced.

Both of the IT majors were assured 90 acre of land each by the government and the MoUs in this regard were signed last year. Told that IT companies were not ready to pay the proper price for land at Rajarhat, Babu said companies wanted land at a price they received in other states. Meanwhile, former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said it was the government which drove IT companies to cities. “In small cities, companies do not require 25 acre, but below this companies do not get tax benefits,” he said. Nasscom president Som Mittal said IT companies required large space to set up training and infrastructural facilities. On the alleged land scam, Mittal said, “It is temporary setback for IT sector in Bengal. It has happened at a time when industry is hit with slowdown and growing only at a rate of 4-7 per cent. I hope in the next 6-8 months the government will come out with an alternate proposal.”

Zuri Hotels & Resorts to Open Hotels in Kolkata

Zuri Hotels & Resorts a multinational conglomerate promoted by a consortium of investors from West Asia is scouting for opportunities in Kolkata. The company is open to contract management opportunities as well as setting up its own hotel in the city. The Zuri Group is into real estate, floriculture and hospitality with resorts and hotels in Kenya, the UK and India.

“The Zuri group sees tremendous potential in Kolkata and rest of the east. We are keen to be present in the hospitality sector here at the earliest. We are in talks with a couple of hotels on a possible management contract and use of the Zuri brand. If something does not work out within six months, we will look at a 1.5-2 acre plot in Kolkata proper to set up a 140-170 room business hotel. The investment will be around Rs 200-225 crore,” said Aditya Mata, general manager of the Zuri group’s flagship property in Kumarakom, Kerala. The group owns two other hotels in Goa and one in Bangalore. Read More »