Property registration has picked up across the state in the last two months compared to April and May, the first two months of the lockdown, but the revenue is nowhere near last year’s level.
And, unlike the rest of the state, Chennai and its neighbouring districts are yet to see an uptick in realty registration, according to official sources.
Data sourced by TOI show that revenue from property registration in TN was just Rs. 30 crores in April and rose to around Rs. 300 crores in May. Revenue more than doubled to Rs 655 crore in June, as some lockdown curbs on movement were eased. July saw a revenue inflow of Rs 644 core.
But clearly, registrations are down since the pandemic struck given that in June and July 2019, the revenue from registrations was Rs. 920 crores and Rs.1020 crores, respectively.
One reason could be that little is happening in the Chennai zone — comprising the city, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts — that accounts for about 45% of the registration revenue generated in Tamil Nadu.
“Chennai is not faring well due to various reasons,” a registration official said. While they didn’t share Chennai specific data, officials acknowledged a dip in property registration in the city, which have been under a more intensive lockdown than the rest of the state after Covid-19 numbers soared.
Builders Association of India state treasurer S Ramaprabhu said people in the city were reluctant to step out due to the spike in Covid-19cases. “When Chennai and surrounding districts were recording an increase in Coronavirus cases, the rest of Tamil Nadu saw fewer cases at that point of time. That’s why registration in other parts of the state was better, while Chennai and suburbs hit a low since residents in the city postponed their registrations,” he added.
Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India Tamil Nadu secretary R Ilankovan said registration of new projects was largely in plots and villas segments in southern districts of the state.
