MUMBAI: Real estate developers based in Mumbai have seen a historic surge in property registrations thanks to a cut in stamp duty.
Data by real estate company Knight Frank India showed that from 1-24 March this year, Mumbai recorded property registration of 12,696 units at a daily rate of 529 units. This is nearly 4.3 times higher than the daily rate of registration recorded at 123 units in March 2020.
From September till date, total revenue from apartments sales realised by the city exchequer has been over Rs2,578 crore, said Knight Frank. When compared to the period before the stamp duty cut, i.e January 2020 to August 2020, the government had collected Rs1,756 crore, it said in a press release.
With the concession on stamp duty expiring on 31 March 2021, the clamour for an extension has got louder. On Thursday, real estate body of more than 1,800 member developers, CREDAI MCHI, urged the Maharashtra government to extend the stamp duty rebate by another year until March 2022.
Real estate experts are of the view that extension of stamp duty rebate will boost sentiment for the sector. However, considering the ticket size of an apartment in Mumbai, for the sector to see meaningful reduction in unsold inventory, developer discounts also have to continue.
Channel checks by various brokerages show that the developers in Mumbai and Pune have been giving an additional discount of 10-15% to boost sales.
Meanwhile, data from ANAROCK Property Consultant showed that 58,290 homes were sold in top seven cities in Q1 2021 compared with 45,200 units in the year ago period, effectively breaching pre-pandemic levels. A break-down of data showed that Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune together accounted for 53% of sales in the quarter, with MMR sales rising 46%, and those in Pune by 47%.
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