Stamp Duty Rebate Effect Cools Off

As the deadline of March 31, 2022 for the expiry of rebate in stamp duty rates for the residential property in Kolkata nears, the apartment sales registrations have taken a hit, signifying a one-third decline over January 2022. There has been 67 percent decline in February 2022 in the registered sale deeds of apartments of up to 500 sq ft size and between 500-1000 sq ft size. 

The latest data sourced from the Directorate of Registrations and Stamps Revenue, Government of West Bengal and Knight Frank India, the leading real estate consultancy, reveals that 1,593 apartment sale documents were registered in Greater Kolkata in February 2022. This represents a 33% month–on–month decline over January 2022. Since the initial announcement of stamp duty reduction on  July 7 2021, many homebuyers waiting for demand stimulants have completed their property registration process. Since the rebate was introduced, 28,935 homes have been sold in Greater Kolkata till February 2022.  Despite the strong momentum in the initial months since the reduction in stamp duty, there has been a gradual decline, as many home buyers completed their home buying process early. Also, since the sop is available till the end of March 2022, sales in February were gradual as home buyers did not have a sense of emergency to take advantage of the discount. The registration data captured is for all residential sales transactions in both the primary and the secondary market.

 Residential Sales Deeds Registered in January 2022 and February 2022

Monthly Residential Sales Deeds Registered since July 2021 till February 2022 

The sales registration data for various home configurations shows that homes in the range of 47-92 sq m (501-1,000 sq ft) accounted for 43% of the total registrations in February 2022 whereas homes above the size of 93 sq m (1000 sq ft) accounted for approximately 32% of homes sold in February 2022. There has been a 67% YoY decline in both apartments up to 46 sq m (0-500 sq ft) as well as unit sizes of 47-92 sq m (500-1,000 sq ft). Unit sizes exceeding 93 sq m and above (1,001 sq ft and above) registered a 61% YoY de-growth during the same period.

Apartment Size Analysis Comparison

Micro-market Share by Percentage – February 2021 and February 2022 

Considering the past trends, peripheral micro-markets continued to remain popular amongst homebuyers. South Zone saw its share increase from 30% in February 2021 to 37% in February 2022. The North Zone held its share steady at 30% in February 2022. Rajarhat, too, saw its share rise from 4% in February 2021 to 8% in February 2022. West Kolkata, on the other hand, registered a massive drop in its share from 19% in February 2021 to 6% in February 2022. This is primarily due to lack of residential inventory in this micro-market, which reflects in the low numbers recorded.

The demand stimulant measures like reduction in stamp duty aided by the all time low-interest rates have provided the much-needed push to the Kolkata residential market, leading to stronger demand in the market. Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director, Knight Frank India thinks that even though registrations were lower in February 2022, the impetus to purchase new homes may strengthen in March 2022 as the stamp duty cut sop expires on 31  March. If this incentive is further continued in the next financial year, it will help catalyse the latent demand in the primary market, especially in view of anticipated price rise due to rising input costs.