Buying a home has become a matter of urgency in COVID era, says Anuj Puri of ANAROCK

MUMBAI, Apr 1 (The CONNECT) - 'With over 350 percent y-o-y jump in property registrations for the month of March, Mumbai saw a huge surge which is very much similar to the robust sales in December 2020, thanks to stamp duty reduction by the Maharashtra Government, said Ashok Mohanani, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra.

Close to 18,000 housing units were registered in this month and this indicates that consumers have grabbed the golden opportunity to purchase properties in the last few days as the bank loan interest rates were at an all-time low coupled with attractive property prices and reduced stamp duty benefits, he said.

“It would have been a great move if the Government would have extended the stamp duty benefit for a couple of quarters more to keep the sales momentum going forward,” he said and appealed to the government, on behalf of NAREDCO and the real estate fraternity, to reconsider their decision and extend the stamp duty concession in favour of the real estate sector.

Ram Naik, Executive Director, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory, said “We have witnessed record property registrations in the month of March 2021, with numbers at almost the same levels as that of December 2020. The mid-income housing segment has performed extremely well and has apparently contributed the most to the unprecedented numbers.”

“Going forward we see the market entering a phase where it’s velocity will be slightly impacted, after 2 record breaking quarters thanks to extremely low transaction and borrowing costs. Post April the affordable housing segment is bound to outperform all the other counter categories until and unless the travel restrictions are reinforced,” Naik said.

Pritam Chivukula, Co-Founder & Director, Tridhaatu Realty, and Hon. Secretary, CREDAI MCHI said "The month of March 2021 has yet again witnessed record property registrations in Mumbai with numbers reaching close to 90% as that of December 2020. The distressed real estate sector due to the impact of the pandemic was revived owing to the stamp duty cut by the State Government. The recovery was evidenced as the homebuyers rushed in to buy properties to avail the stamp duty benefit. Other factors such as a hike in household saving rates, all time low home loan rates, developers offering discounts and payment flexibility too helped in the resurgence for real estate demand. But the industry isn't out of the crisis situation yet as we see a rise in the Covid cases and a fear of yet another lockdown in the State.”

“We will continue to urge the Government to reconsider their decision and extend the stamp duty benefit further in interest of the homebuyers."

Anuj Puri, Chairman and founder of ANAROCK Property Consultants, said the demand for housing in cities like Mumbai and Pune is driven by organic demand, which will continue regardless of whether stamp duty cuts prevail or not. While the cut did help, it is also true that buying a home has become a matter of urgency since COVID-19 set in.

Meanwhile, developer discounts continue and buyers have not lost their bargaining power, Puri added.