Mumbai News

Mumbai home sales surge ahead of stamp duty rise – Mint

BENGALURU: Residential sales in Mumbai, India’s most valuable property market, saw a sharp surge in December ahead of the increase in stamp duty, effective 1 January.

Around 18,854 units were registered during the month until 30 December, with sales peaking in the last few days that saw 3,059 units being registered during 28-30 December, according to data by property consultancy Knight Frank India.

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The daily average of number of units that were registered until 25 December was 585 units, which rose to around 1,019 units in the last few days.

The Maharashtra government had reduced stamp duty from 5% to 2% for October to December and to 3% for the January-March period.

“The reduction in stamp duty has led to a significant surge in home sales in Maharashtra, particularly in Mumbai, comforting the long -beleaguered real estate sector of this region. A combination of lowest home loan rates, reduced prices along with rebates and offers made by developers, and increased household saving rates, have provided the right growth environment for the residential segment to grow,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India.

Baijal said the sales momentum is crucial for developers, who have been facing liquidity challenges and below par valuations for their projects, making it tough for them to raise capital.

Mumbai-based real estate developer Lodha Group sold about 2,500 crore worth of inventory in the December quarter and has garnered around 6,000 crore of sales for the full year.

“Ready inventory in our existing projects sold well and we saw a lot of upswing in the premium and luxury categories, compared to affordable housing projects which drove sales earlier,” said Prashant Bindal, chief sales officer, Lodha Group.

Lodha’s World Tower project in central Mumbai, where the minimum price of an apartment is 8 crore, sold about 300 crore of inventory in the last two months.

Projects such as The Park and World Towers, both in the high-end category, has seen their best sales in December in many years, Bindal added.

The residential sector has been deeply impacted by a prolonged slowdown that has lasted for over six years now. However, despite the covid-led disruption, surprisingly home sales in most cities saw an uptick this year.

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Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/mumbai-home-sales-surge-ahead-of-stamp-duty-rise-11609416988593.html