A spate of launches at the premium end of the residential segment from the heart of south Calcutta to the fringes of the north is perking up the real estate market in a city better associated with affordable housing.

A starting price of ₹1.4 crore for a clear view of the Dakshineswar Kali temple and the Hooghly will certainly test the appetite of the micro-market of Alambazar. So will the price tag of ₹5.5 crore-plus adjacent to a narrow meandering road in Panditya.

The ask from reputable builders for their fancy offerings is scaling new peaks this winter when many projects are traditionally launched. The trend suggests that developers are not shy of bringing 3-5 BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) apartments to the market, underlining their growing confidence in the premium segment.

“There is a good demand for apartments in the premium segment, especially in the ₹2-3 crore price bracket. The buyers are usually a mix of professionals and business class who are probably looking for an upgrade from their existing smaller units,” said Sidharth Pansari, president of Credai Bengal and director of Primarc.

Rumour has it that Pansari’s Primarc is contemplating launching a project near Acropolis Mall in Kasba, known as a Bengali middle-class refuge, for upwards of ₹4.3 crore.

While some projects ask buyers to break the bank by offering great locations, others claim to pack “never-seen-before” features as selling points. Being at Panditiya or next to Kali temple at Dakshineswar, both being developed by Orbit Group, will be attractive to many. So is Merlin’s soon-to-be launched G+28 tower near the Ruby crossing with a price tag of ₹3.5 crore or ATK Kalim’s Burj with apartments of ₹2.7 crore onwards off the Park Circus Connector.

Some purists may balk at the idea of including BL Saha Road or James Long Sarani as part of New Alipore but that did not deter Emami Realty’s Amode or Godrej Blue by Godrej Properties from using the premium location as a hook.

However, they are also going beyond just positioning their projects adjacent to one of the more exciting micro markets of Calcutta. Emami Realty’s MD & CEO Nitesh Kumar said there would be a musical fountain, manually controlled, on a lake with water jets going up to 100 feet. “It has never been seen in any project here in Calcutta,” Kumar said.

Godrej Blue, too, is playing on the strength of a 0.8-acre pond within the project premises, with stress on space and serenity. Subhasish Pattanaik, CEO of West and East of Godrej, said the launch reflected the company’s confidence in demand for high-end housing. “Our project primarily caters to entrepreneurs, senior professionals and Bengali diaspora residing across India and abroad,” Pattanaik added.

The Burj is appealing to buyers with a ‘flying terrace’ which juts out of the building at mid-elevation on the 15th floor which will house the banquet hall and gymnasium. “It will be a statement piece from ATK Kalim Group which wants to expand on the Park Circus connector,” said Azad Tanveer Kalim, chairman of ATK Kalim Group.

According to city-based brokerage and consultancy firm NK Realtors, about 2,800 units were launched in 2023 in the price band of ₹1.5-₹6 crore and 900 units were sold. As of September, about 1,000 units have been launched in this premium category in 2024, said Pawan Agarwal, the director of NK. He said there was a 15 per cent price appreciation in 2024 over the previous year.

Saket Mohta, managing director of the Merlin Group, argued that the trend reflects the city’s increasingly affluent population profile and the growing post-Covid preference for spacious homes with premium amenities from reputable builders.