Calcutta witnessed most apartment launches in five years in the first half of 2022 as sales outpaced supply, bringing down inventory and lead time for developers to sell an apartment.

Sales also rose 39 per cent compared with the same period last year even though the growth trails other big metros, a Knight Frank report said.

Within the city, South Calcutta was the most active market, accounting for 34.4 per cent of the 7,090 units sold during the January-June period.

The six-month period witnessed the launch of 6,686 units, which was the highest since the first half of 2017. Compared with the same period last year, the growth was 205 per cent.

The sale momentum could also be ascertained from the lowest inventory of unsold units in seven years. There are 20,861 units by the end of June in Calcutta, and the developers can hope to sell them in 6.1 quarters, the report said.

Combined sales and launches of eight top cities were at a 9-year and 8-year high, respectively.

Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India, noted that the preference for a bigger apartments remains dominant in the residential market.