Despite two waves of COVID-19, Mumbai has seen sales of more than Rs 4,000 crore worth of luxury homes priced above Rs 15 crore. Nearly 60 percent of the total transactions captured for the homes priced above Rs 15 crore during this period were registered at a 2 percent stamp duty, a report has said.
A report by Square Yards titled 'List of Most Expensive Homes Sold in Mumbai- Jan-Jun 2021' has said that the luxury market in Mumbai had a good run in the first six months of 2021. It was clear that the surge in home sales in the city was driven by the stamp duty waiver which was valid till March 31, 2021.
More than 45 percent of the homes purchased in the above Rs 15 crore category were priced between Rs 15 crore and Rs 20 crore while 40 percent were priced at Rs 20-30 crore. Less than 10 percent of the transactions fell in the Rs 30-50 crore budget bracket while homes priced above Rs 50 crore formed 7 percent of the total share, the report said.
Nearly 60 percent of the total transactions captured came from residential projects in Lower Parel.
As many as 60 percent of the total transactions were registered at 2 percent stamp duty indicating that the slashed stamp duty charges spurred a major uptick in the luxury segment in Q1 of 2021, the report said.
The impact of the stamp duty waiver was also clearly visible in the drastic drop in the number of transactions post-March 31, 2021. There was a 73 percent drop in the number of luxury transactions in Q2, 2021 as compared to Q1, 2021. There were over Rs 900 crore worth of luxury transactions closed in Q2, 2021, the report said.
Projects that recorded 10 or more transactions included Raheja Artesia, Indiabulls Blu, Omkar 1973 and Raheja Vivarea, it said.
Maximum number of transactions were noted for properties sized 4,000-6,000 sq ft with 43 percent share of the total sales, the report said, adding as many as 67 percent of the buyers on the list were aged above 40 years while 35 percent of the buyers belonged to the real estate sector.
As many as 43 percent units sold were of sizes 4,000 to 6,000 sq ft; as many as 86 percent were between Rs 15 crore and Rs 30 crore. The report also said that as many as 34 percent preferred upwards of 40th floor and 58 percent preferred ready-to-move-in homes, the report said.
“Mumbai being undoubtedly the most attractive and expensive real estate market in India boasts of highest number of transactions over Rs 15 crore. It formed approximately 0.13 percent of the total residential sale transaction base of about 1.26 lakh units in 2021 (Jan-May). There was a 63 percent hike in these high-ticket transactions compared to 2019 and 2020 which is attributed to lesser stamp duty, price correction of 15-30 percent in high-value transactions and the recent cheer in equity markets,” said Anand Moorthy, Business Head, Data Intelligence & Asset Management, Square Yards.