Residential market prices have dropped substantially in the Kolkata market in the second half of 2017 while annual launches have fallen by 47 per cent during the period, according to study by real estate advisory firm Knight Frank. The study said that the effective prices in the organised residential projects in the city have dropped to the extent of 12 per cent, which included a slash in the base prices charged by the developers along with waiver of other charges like stamp duties. Chief economist and national director of Knight Frank Samantak Das said that this drop in prices had been a result of sluggish demand in addition to ageing inventory levels of the completed units for which the developers were going slow on new project launches. Das said that price correction downwards would be more pronounced in the coming months. As of today, there were nearly 40,000 unsold units in the organised residential units in Kolkata as yearly sales had fallen more in 2017 than in 2016, when demonetisation was announced. The report also said that since West Bengal was yet to adopt RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) and establish the Housing Industry Regulatory Authority (HIRA), the developers were adopting a wait and watch approach. Nationwide, Hyderabad witnessed the steepest fall in new project launches, along with cites like Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai, the report said.
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