Highest recovery of office space transactions in Kolkata after lockdown, says Knight Frank

Kolkata’s office space transaction market has recovered 62% of the 2019 quarterly average in the third quarter of the current calendar year, clocking the highest recovery rate in India after the lockdown, a Knight Frank report said on Thursday.

The total office transactions of the eight markets in the third quarter of the 2020 calendar year have reached an average 33% of the 2019 quarterly level, with Chennai, NCR and Mumbai recording higher than the average recovery. Transactions in Chennai, NCR and Mumbai reached 57%, 43% and 42%, respectively, of the quarterly average of 2019, the report said.

New completions across the country also improved an average 29% of the 2019 quarterly average with Ahmedabad reporting the highest completions at 125% of the quarterly average levels of 2019.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis in the current calendar year, office transactions across prime cities surged 80% in Q3, while new completion of office spaces recovered 126% in Ahmedabad in Q3 compared with Q2 this year, the Knight Frank report said.

Sushil Mohta, president, Credai, West Bengal, said the real estate market has overall witnessed a positive sentiment after the lockdown till August. Though certain realty groups witnessed 70-85% increase in response from customers during June and July compared with the pre-Covid period, many customers after witnessing the devastating effects of Amphan have shown interest in shifting to apartments and gated housing complexes with 24×7 water and electricity supplies from old houses.

Shishir Baijlal, chairman and MD, Knight Frank India, said the lockdown in the wake of the pandemic forced occupiers to reassess their office space strategies, leading many to postpone their office expansion plans till the second quarter of the 2020 calendar year. But with the unlocking in progress, the office dynamics market has also started improving.