Property registrations in the state in three months from September to November this year was highest in comparison to the figures for the corresponding period in the past four years and a record 17,000 documents were registered on Friday — the highest single day number after the Covid-19 outbreak, sending a positive vibe to the economy.
A total of 7,96,617 documents were registered from September to November this year. The distant second for the corresponding period in the past four years is the figures of 2018, when a total of 5,71,326 properties were registered from September to November.
The number of documents registered till December 17 this year is also encouraging. As many as 2,36,414 properties have been registered this month so far in comparison to 2,39,292 in the entire December 2019 — the second highest for the month in the past four years.
Data reveals that there was a 30% surge in registrations in September this year compared to 2019, followed by over 40% in October and 20% in November against the figures in the corresponding period last year.
Attributing the surge in registrations to the stamp duty cut, state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat said, “Even as transactions have increased, the revenue has suffered a bit. But we expect to make up for it by the end of the financial year.”
The state has so far mopped up a revenue of Rs11,463.85 crore, achieving almost 76% of the target of Rs15,000 crore.
In a bid to revive the real estate economy, the state government had cut the stamp duty payable on all transactions executed and registered between September 1 and December 31 this year by 3% and by 2% for the transactions registered between January 1 and March 31 next year.
Several experts claimed that the duty cut pushed the number of registrations to the north in the past four months. There has been a sharp rise in property transactions across Pune, Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Nagpur following the move, snowballing into record 17,000 registrations in the state on Friday.
The average number of single day registrations is around 9,000 in Maharashtra in a normal period.
State inspector-general of registrations and stamps (IGR) Omprakash Deshmukh said, “This (Friday’s figures) is a record and I believe that with two more weeks to go for the end of the month, another record may be set.”
Credai vice-president Shantilal Kataria said the Friday’s record was a combined effect of low interest rates and the upfront concession on stamp duty.
The fear of realtors passing on the increasing construction cost onto the buyers in near future might have given impetus to the registrations, a real estate expert said.
“As income streams are coming back to normal, we believe that more buyers will come to the market before the end of the financial year to make the most of this opportune time to buy their dream homes,” added a realtor.
