Viren Mehta’s family was growing and he wanted to move to a bigger flat. But he did not want to budge from Ballygunge Circular Road.

Money was no problem for the well-to-do businessman; he was running short of new residential projects to choose from. After a tedious search, he finally found a flat at his favoured address.

Mehta is among many residents of central and south-central Calcutta ? especially Gujaratis, Marwaris, Punjabis and Sindhis ? who are ready to pay any price for a home here but there are almost no new residential projects coming up in these areas.

“There is hardly any land available here, which stifles supply of new apartments. But the captive demand is quite strong,” says Pradip Chopra of PS Group, which has developed several projects in these areas.

The demand-supply mismatch is expectedly telling on the prices of apartments.

In the last couple of months, places like Loudon Street, Queen’s Park, Sunny Park, Ballygunge Park Road, Mayfair Road and Ballygunge Place have seen appreciation of Rs 500 a sq ft. Prices have now touched Rs 5,500 a sq ft in most of these areas ? higher than any other locality in Calcutta except some upscale pockets of Alipore.

But that has not deterred buyers from queuing up for the few apartments that could be built in these parts.

Chopra says at least 200-300 people have requested him to accommodate them in his new project. “Here, projects are generally sold in a single day. Sometimes even before they are launched. Word of mouth is sufficient,” he adds.

With big tracts of land a distant dream in these areas, there is no room for large-format projects. Most buildings here house not more than 20-30 apartments.

The profile of the buyer is also different from elsewhere, says Pawan Agarwal of N.K. Realtor, a property marketing agency in Calcutta. “They seek open ambience, landscaped garden, large visitors’ car park and a separate elevator for service staff among other things.”

So, a club, a health club or a banquet hall that have become the hallmark of most new residential projects in the city are missing. “Many of them (the residents) are members of different clubs. They hold parties and social engagements in star hotels or clubs,” Agarwal says.

As most of the buyers are cash-rich, they hardly depend on bank loans for property whose rack rates are sometimes lower than the price at which the transaction takes place.

The recent hardening of interest rates does not bother them either.

The size of flats, too, is bigger than the usual 800-1,200 sq ft. Two to three years ago, a developer would look at building 2,000-3,000 sq ft apartments. But now, with compact architecture in vogue and the price pinch getting sharper ? rates have doubled in the last couple of years ? most flats range between 1,500 and 2,300 sq ft.

Builders, however, are optimistic, saying incomes have kept pace with the rising property prices and loan rates.

Calcutta is still a user-driven market unlike Gurgaon or Noida, where units are cornered by the investor community. As a result, prices are an indicator of real demand in this city. Nowhere is this more evident than south-central Calcutta.

Localities adjacent to it are also in demand. For instance, a rare large-format project of about 500 apartments is coming up on the Dover Road-Hazra Road crossing. Nine months have barely passed and 150 units have been booked, although the project is yet to be launched. In the meantime, rates have appreciated from Rs 2,200 a sq foot to Rs 3,500 a sq ft. Real estate analysts predict this area will continue to outperform other parts of the city.