The premium segment of Calcutta’s real estate market is set to witness a twofold jump in launches in 2023 on the back of a strong pick- up in sales seen in the last year.

An estimate by one of the city’s top real estate brokerages suggests that as much as 4,600 units, spread over 11.5 million square feet, will be launched in the Calcutta market which is usually dominated by the affordable segment.

The price bracket for the apartments in this segment is taken between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 5 crore. In 2022, around 2,100 units were launched encompassing 5.45 million square feet, a report published by NK Realtors said.

“2022 in many ways saw the emergence of the premium home category, which has grown 50 per cent and now accounts for about 15 per cent of the total residential market in Calcutta,” Pawan Agarwal, director of N.K. Realtors, said.

The report suggested 1,845 units comprising 4.07 million square feet were sold in 2022, a growth of 19 per cent over the previous year.

Harshavardhan Neotia, chairman of Ambuja Neotia Group, appeared to agree with the finding that there is a general buoyancy in the premium end of the market.

“There is a Covid-induced effect of owning a bigger home, which is going to be more expensive. Moreover, there is general inflation due to input cost pressure. Put together, the category size is expanding and there are more buyers as well,” Neotia explained.

The report says pockets of north Calcutta — Kankurgachi, Lake Town, Manikatala, Ultadanga, Bangur andShyambazar — booked the highest sales in 2022. The price range in this area hovered between Rs 7,300 to Rs 10,000 per square feet, after appreciating by 5 per cent.

However, the biggest supply in 2023 — 70 per cent — will come in the micro markets of East Calcutta which comprise New Town and EM Bypass(including Park Circus and Roby Connectors). The price here is Rs 7,300 to Rs 13,800 per square feet. Sales and supply in south Calcutta and central business district were lower in 2022 than these two micro markets.