MMR registers 50% dip in property sales

New Delhi: Property sales took a sharp slump in Maharashtra as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) recorded sale transactions worth Rs. 10,979 crores in May 2021 as compared to Rs. 22,507 crores in April 2021. As per the CRE Matrix property tracker and data available from Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps (IGR) Maharashtra as on 30th May 2021, MMR region and Mumbai registered low sales record and stamp duty collection largely due to ongoing second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

The MMR regions were witnessing steady growth in the last quarter of Financial Year 2020-21, with sales recorded at Rs. 44,167 crores as of March 31st. The sales numbers, however, took a steep dive with property sale transactions reaching Rs. 22,507 crores in April and Rs. 10,979 crores in May. Similarly, Mumbai too suffered a setback with sales transactions standing at Rs. 7,246 crores in May 2021 as compared to Rs. 16,250 crores in April 2021. The property sale transactions registered in Mumbai in March 2021 was Rs. 28,961 crores. Pritam Chivukula, Secretary, Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry CREDAI (MCHI) said, "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."

Chivukula has urged the Maharashtra State government to reconsider its decision on the stamp duty waiver to attract homebuyers. The State government in April decided not to continue with the two percent stamp duty waiver on property and reinstate its earlier system of five per cent stamp duty on property registrations.

As per the data from IGR Maharashtra, the stamp duty collection in MMR for the month of May was Rs 417 crores as compared to Rs. 725 crores in April 2021. Whereas the stamp duty collection in MMR for the month of March was Rs. 1365 crores. For stamp duty collection in Mumbai, Rs 250 crores were collected in May as against to Rs. 492 crores in April this year. Whereas the stamp duty collection in MMR for the month of March was Rs. 830 crores.

Ashok Mohanani, president, Naredco Maharashtra, said, "We have started witnessing a 50 per cent dip in property sales after the Maharashtra government restored stamp duty back to five per cent in Mumbai and six per cent in the rest of Maharashtra, from April 2021."