Mumbai property deals take bad hit
„Reversal of stamp duty relief affects sales
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) recorded a sharp drop in property sale transactions in April-May
2021 over the Covid-19 second wave and the Maharashtra government's decision to discontinue the stamp duty waiver on property registrations from April 2021.
Sale transactions in April and May came down to Rs 10,979 crore and Rs
22,507 crore, respectively, against Rs 44,167 crore in March 2021.
The property sale transactions registered in MMR in February and January 2021 were Rs
21,696 crore and Rs 21,484 crore, respectively.
As per data from the Inspector General of Registration-Department of Registrations & Stamps Maharashtra, as on May
30, 2021, the stamp duty collection in MMR for the month was Rs 417 crore, as compared to Rs 725 crore in April 2021.
The stamp duty collection in MMR for the months of March, February and January
2021 were Rs 1,365 crore, Rs 648 crore and Rs 570 crore, respectively.
"We have started witnessing a 50 per cent dip in property sales after the Maharashtra government restored stamp duty back to 5 per cent in Mumbai and 6 per cent in the rest of Maharashtra from April 2021. The sales registered
in the month of April & May are due to the overflow of registrations from the previous quarter where many homebuyers took advantage of the stamp duty benefit before the March deadline and registered their properties later," said Ashok Mohanani, president, Naredco Maharashtra.
"Due to the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 and the Maharashtra government's decision to discontinue the stamp duty waiver on property registrations from April 2021, there has been a decline in the property sales in the months of April and May 2021," real estate experts said.
"The second wave which has been more deadly than the first wave made the homebuyers more cautious to save money for emergencies rather than
investing in properties. Amid the sudden surge in Covid cases and the various curbs due to the lockdown in the state, the sector faced a gradual slowdown, which made it extremely difficult to sustain the momentum...the homebuyers took advantage of the stamp duty benefit before the March deadline," said Pritam Chivukula, co-founder & director, Tridhaatu Realty.
"For the second consecutive month in a row, the real estate sector faced a dip in sales due to the second wave of the pandemic. Even the festive occasions of Gudi Padwa and Akshaya Tritiya saw buyers shying away from auspicious purchases due to the surge in Covid-19 cases," Ram Naik, executive director, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory.