Property registration in Mumbai hits 10-year high, demand moderates

Spurt in home sales after state government cut stamp duty appears to be cooling off, say industry experts.

Property registrations in Mumbai hit the 100,000-mark till November, marking a 10-year high as "demand enablers" like low prices and cheaper interest rates lure people to buy homes in India’s financial capital.

The previous 10-year high was 80,746 units in 2018. November 2021 recorded property sale registrations of 7,582 units: an 18 per-cent decline compared to same month last year (YoY) when stamp duty rate was at its lowest level of two per cent, said property consultant Knight Frank India, quoting data from the Maharashtra government’s Department of Registrations and Stamps.

Compared to October or a month-on-month (MoM) basis, registrations are lower by 12 per cent. In October, the city recorded a decadal best in terms of property sale registrations that month. At 8,576 units, the registrations increased by eight per cent YoY compared to October 2020, when the stamp duty rate was at the lowest level of 2 per cent, it said.

Registrations were higher by 36 per cent compared to November 2019. Registrations in the January-November 2021 period were 122 per cent higher compared to the same period last year, Knight Frank India said.

The state government earned a revenue of Rs 5,351 crore between January 2021 and November 2021.

“The consumer sentiment in the Mumbai housing market remains strong. The growth rate has moderated when compared to the year ago period when the market was buoyant on account of the lowest applicable stamp duty rate window,” said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India.

"The demand enablers in the form of low house prices, low home loan interest rate and new project launches continue to entice homebuyers. The threat of new Covid-19 variants and response from the healthcare system will be crucial in determining the market activity level in the near future,” he said.

Knight Frank said that the share of Rs 1 crore and below housing segment is at a five-month high of 58 per cent. In the latest three-month period, it has increased from 51 per cent in September 2021 to 53 per cent in October 2021 and now stands at 58 per cent.

"The share of this segment was lower during the stamp duty incentive window when many homebuyers in the higher value ticket size segments were more active. However, since the resumption of the regular stamp duty rate in April 2021, this segment remains a dominant part of homebuyer preference in the city," said the firm.

To promote housing amongst women citizens, Maharashtra in March 2021 introduced an incentivised stamp duty rate of four per cent: that is one per cent lower than the standard rate in Mumbai. After the initial spurt in registrations by women homebuyers, the representation has been low. In November 2021, the share of women homebuyers fell to a 6-month low of 2.8 per cent. The earlier low was 1.8 per cent in May 2021.

“The continued momentum in the real estate sector, with well-outlined developer initiatives during festive seasons and proactive measures taken by the government like maintaining the stance on recent monetary policy at 4 per cent, robust vaccination drive, and lowest home loan interest rates, is a result of the skyrocketing property sale registrations crossing the 100,000 mark for the first time in a decade for Mumbai real estate," said Rohit Poddar, managing director, Poddar Housing and Development.

The good figures reflect homebuyers' attitudes, as the sector of Rs 1 crore and lower continues to dominate with 58 per cent of the market, Poddar said.