The realty market nosedived in the first lockdown of Covid-19 pandemic, recording only 2,046 registrations between April to June 2020. The market was boosted by the announcement of the reduction of stamp duty to 2% on September 2020. With discounts available in the market (both in primary and resale) registration no’s soared to 10,901 and 36,811 in the second and third quarters recording 433% and 238% quarter-on-quarter respectively.
An increase in stamp duty to 3% in January 2021 has a slight impact on overall no, but Q4 still ended at a high with 38,312 registrations.
The start of FY 22 saw stamp duty restored to 5%. But with the strong consumer demand backed by the discounts available in the market, the momentum of registration continued but at a comparatively lesser speed as compared to FY 21 but still higher than FY 20. FY 22 recorded registration of 1,08,863 properties, 23.6% higher than FY 21. March 2022 recorded almost 94% of March 2021.
FY 23 started on a grimmer mood on the backdrop of the Ukraine war and rising inflation. An increase in stamp duty to 6%, an increase in repo rate by 190 basis points and a corresponding increase in home loan interest rate added salt to the wound. On the other hand, developers also have racked up the prices after the increase in input cost and the improved sales in FY 23, which has started to hit consumer affordability. The first quarter recorded 31,501 registrations. The second quarter is always marred by monsoon and Pitru Paksha, recorded 28,123 registrations, and showed a decline in quarter-on-quarter by 10.7%.
Is it the start of the decline of sales in the realty market? With this festive season, will the realty market soar the new heights?
Chart Showing Greater Mumbai month-on-month Property Registration:
