Mumbai Real Estate Registrations Shoots Up By 16%
Despite economic slow down and slump in the real estate industry, the Mumbai real estate market saw a 16% increase in property registrations during the first half of this year, compared to that of last year. The data was sourced by the Director General of Registrations, Mumbai.
The number of property registrations was about 34,580 between January to June this year whereas, it was about 29,770 in the first half of 2012. This upmarket swing in property sales can be attributed to supply of properties coming back to the market, various offers and discounts by developers and faster approvals of projects.
The Mumbai residential real estate market had been sluggish for the last one to one and half years due to slower economic growth, depreciating rupee, volatility in the market and political stalemates. Change in development control rules too had affected the growth of the real estate market. However, irrespective of the slump, the BMC approvals scenario has improved this year.
The number of projects cleared by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation‘s (BMC) high-rise committee this year was more than five times the number of projects it had approved in the second half of year 2012. It cleared about 62 projects in the last six months, which included some premium projects by Lodha Group, Orbit Corporation and Nirmal Lifestyle.
However, according to developers, the adamant stance of the RBI over interest rates has dampened sales. The president of MCHI-CREDAI said that the pent up demand for real estate has resulted in increased registrations and sales, however, the RBI and central government should work together to improve the economic situation and reduce interest rates. The interest rates were initially expected to ease during the latter half of this years, the fall in currency has forced RBI to reverse its stance. This has led to fears that the interest rates may go up in the year ahead.
To attract buyers and push sales in a sluggish market, developers are offering various discounts and offers. This has contributed to a marginal increase in property registrations and sales. Offers include discounts on per square feet of the property, possession of the property after 20% of the property price as down payment (the rest after possession), developer paying the stamp duty and registration fees and paid holiday. However, sales can be expected to really boost only if the property rates and interest rates go down.
