The Hindu Business Line : ‘Realty prices up over 15% in Bengal’s tier II, III cities’

Real estate prices in the tier II and III cities in West Bengal have been growing at over 15 per cent, largely driven by a spurt of industrial activity, according to real estate developers.

The growth rate, according to them, could be sustained only if connectivity was improved.

Addressing a real estate summit organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Wednesday, Mr Pradeep Sureka, Managing Director of Sureka Group and President of CREDAI, said, “We now see good opportunities for developing integrated townships in the tier II and III cities where land is available.”

Tackling bottlenecks

The logistical and infrastructure bottlenecks, he felt, could be tackled through public-private partnerships.

Pointing out the high rate of urbanisation in the country, Mr Sushil Mohta, Director of Merlin Group, said there would be 2,500 towns within the next 20 years in India, up from 500 towns currently. “A lot of satellite towns would be merged with the metros, with five-six new towns cropping up in-between them,” he said.

Mr Hemant Kanoria, Director, Bengal Shristi Infrastructure, said, “Prices in the tier II and III cities have been growing at 15-20 per cent over the last 2 years.” In Durgapur, as he pointed out, property prices shot up from Rs 1,100 to Rs 2,700 a sq ft in past two years.

This year the price could touch the Rs 3,000-mark.

From other metros

A large chunk of demand in these areas came from professionals transferred from other metros, he said. The end users accounted for almost 70 per cent of the demand, while the rest came from investors looking for capital gains, he added.

Bengal Shristi would invest Rs 4,000 crore in the next four years in the country to develop integrated townships, Mr Kanoria said.

A large part of it would be invested in cities such as Asansol, Ranigunj, Haldia, Krishnanagar, Durgapur, and Siliguri, he added.