Builders focusing more on ''neo-affordable'' housing segment:

Sales from the 'neo-affordable' housing segment is likely to weather the slowdown for builders in West Bengal, real estate advisory firm Knight Frank said on Tuesday.

"In the past two and a half years, there is a clear trend reversal with the maximum sales traction having shifted from the less than Rs 25 lakh bracket to Rs 25-50 lakh bracket... and can easily be termed as the new or 'neo- affordable' category," Kight Frank AVP (Research) Divya Grover said.

Developers who were previously not offering any residential product in the 'neo-affordable' segment with ticket sizes in the Rs 25-50 lakh range, are focusing marketing strategies to create a buzz around these, a trend which should continue in 2020, she said.

 

Re-definition of the "affordable home" by the GST council to encompass units up to 60 sq meters in carpet area size, and within Rs 45 lakh, helped create the 'neo- affordable' segment, the official said.

Cash flows generated from this category can be used to revive stalled projects in "such challenging times", Grover said.