KOCHI: National Housing Bank (NHB) Residex, the housing price index of the regulatory body for housing finance companies, showed that carpet area prices of real estate properties in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram have been increasing over the past seven years.
NHB tracks housing prices of 50 cities, it also includes two from Kerala. Housing prices are classified on the basis of carpet area size at city level (Rs/sq ft) for units under three product category levels namely up to 60 sq m, over 60 and up to 110 sq m and over 110 sq m.
NHB Residex captures two housing price indices: HPI@assessment Prices and HPI@market Prices for under construction properties.
The former is based on valuation data of residential properties received from banks and HFCs, while the latter is based on data of unsold stock hydra onion collected through a market survey collected from project financing details of banks and HFCs.
In Kochi, the average carpet area prices (HPI@assessment prices) for properties of size up to 60 sq m stood at Rs 4,259/sq ft during the third quarter of 2013. It grew to Rs 5,994 in the same period in 2020, a growth of 41%.
Whereas, the carpet area prices of above 60 sq m and up to 110 sq m grew from Rs 3,920 to Rs 5,882/sq ft over the same period, registering a growth of 50%.
For properties above 110 sq m, the prices grew from Rs 4,735 to Rs 8,356/sq ft, a growth of 76%. Overall, the carpet area prices (at the assessment prices) in Kochi grew from Rs 4,288 to Rs 6,843/sq ft, a growth of 60% in seven years.
In Thiruvananthapuram, the overall carpet area prices (HPI@assessment prices) grew from Rs 4,035/ sq ft during third of 2013 to Rs 6,848/ sq ft during third quarter of 2020, a growth of 70%, which is 10% higher than that of Kochi.
For properties of size up to 60 sq m, the carpet area prices stood at Rs 4,832/sq ft in 2013 and it grew to Rs 7,041/sq ft by 2020, an increase of 46%.
The carpet area prices of above 60 sq m and up to 110 sq m grew from Rs 3,798 to Rs 6,732/sq ft, an increase of 77%. For properties above 110 sq m, the prices grew from Rs 4,074 to Rs 6,920/sq ft, an increase of 70%.
Commenting on the steady growth of real estate prices in Kochi, MD of Asset Homes Sunil Kumar said, “The fact that there hasn’t been any correction shows that the builders in Kochi were always working on a relatively thin margin compared to the rest of the country. The maximum price here could be Rs 6,000 to 6,500/sq ft, while this could touch five figures in bigger towns.”