More than 85 per cent demand for residential properties in Kolkata hovers under the 20 lakh price bracket, property brokers feel. To take an apartment of 20 lakh a customer in usually gets it financed and goes for 17 lakh loan, which is 85% of the property value now. This means he must have a salary of 35,000 per month. That is the issue- the hike in salaries has not been keeping pace with the hike in real estate values.
Moreover these young buyers and the average age of home buyer has decreased to early thirties in the last 5-years only. For the young buyer, the pinch is even more as he has high aspirations of owning a home but is not able to fulfill his dream as the EMI is much more than what he can afford.
The escalation in real estate values has been across all segments in Kolkata but the worst hit has been the middle income group. With a steady increase of 15-20% in residential capital values each year, what was available for the mid segment for Rs 8-15 lakh one year back, has climbed up to 20-25 lakh.
While the premium apartments available in the price bracket of 25-35 lakh an year back has also gone up to 45-75 lakh, the high income group is able to weather the price hike as they have high disposable income and mostly they are working couples.
For the higher income group which is not price sensitive in Kolkata, there are at least 15 brands in the real estate industry who are catering to their exclusive demand of a lifestyle living.
The average size for a residential property in Kolkata for the middle segment is around 1,000 sq ft (18-20 lakh) while for the premium segment, it is around 1700-2500 sq ff available now in the bracket of 50-70 lakh.
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