No properties above Rs 50 L registered on November 9, 10 last year, UT figures show

However, the first quarter after this period saw a downward trend with just 117 properties being registered from January 2017 to March 2017 but 151 sale deeds materialised from April to June 2017 (File)

THE FIRST quarter post-demonetisation last year may have seen a slowdown in the real estate sector of Chandigarh but it picked up within six months and the sale deeds crossed the previous year’s mark as well, according to figures compiled by the UT Administration. The UT on Friday sent a detailed report of quarter-wise registration of property (residential and commercial) above Rs 50 lakh along with details of sellers and buyers and their PAN copies to the director, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Kautilya Marg, Delhi.

As per the details, from July 2016 to September 2016, as many as 160 sale deeds were recorded and from October 2016 to December 2016, a period in which demonetisation was announced and people were allowed to deposit their old notes in the banks, the same number of registrations — 160 — was recorded. However, the first quarter after this period saw a downward trend with just 117 properties being registered from January 2017 to March 2017 but 151 sale deeds materialised from April to June 2017.

However, the number of registrations from July to September shot up to 192 with the highest being in the month of July — 75 sale deeds. Interestingly, when on the night of November 8, 2016, the demonetisation was announced, the next two days — November 9 and 10 — despite being working days, not even a single property was registered in the city where even on routine days, one or two properties are registered. However, the property registration shot up to 12 on November 21 and other days close to demonetisation.

A senior officer of the UT Administration said that the number came down in the initial months as people became cautious while making any transactions. “The department had asked us to send details of sellers and buyers of properties above Rs 50 lakh. So we have prepared the report and sent it to them,” said the officer.

Sunil Kumar, former chairman of Property Consultants Association, said that some sellers finalised deals quickly within this period after they felt that property rates would go down. “In fact, after demonetisation, certain messages on WhatsApp groups went viral that the property rates would go down and there would be a similar crackdown in this sector. So some people whose deals were already midway, finalised them quicky while others who had to purchase, immediately dropped their plans,” he said.

In the month of November 2016, 47 properties were registered; the number rose to 54 in December. In January, the number of sale deeds was 40 while in February, it was just 35. As per details sent to Delhi, as many as 40 properties were registered in March; the number rose to 52 in April, 48 in May and 49 in June. The situation improved in July with 75 sale deeds.