In this year of Covid-19 pandemic, the city of dreams has finally made the Mumbaikars bet big on real estate. This sudden movement in the real estate market, majorly from the end-users has been an outcome of the steep reduction in stamp duty, low home loan interest rates, and lucrative offers being provided by developers. The combination of these factors has made it the perfect time to invest in properties. The market is healing and is in a stable recovery phase, which indicates these offerings could get rolled back soon. Home sales volume in Mumbai was recorded to be of 9,301 units in November 2020.

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Commenting on the sudden upliftment in sales for MMR market, Mani Rangarajan, Group COO,Housing.com, Makaan.com and Proptiger.com said, "One of the catalysts for a huge jump in residential sales in MMR is the reduction in stamp duty. However, the interest of homebuyers also got a boost due to low home loan interest rates, festival season, pent-up demand, stagnant property prices and incentives / offers given by the developers. We believe that real estate has now picked up the momentum, and it is going to continue to the next year. The market is flush with options and buyers are responding positively to any step which is going to help them save some money. In fact, the situation has started improving in MMR after the Unlock.” 

According to the Real Insight Report for Q3 2020 by Proptiger Data Labs, residential home sales aggregated to 35,132 units during Q3, an increase of 85% over the previous quarter. Thane West in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) made the biggest contribution to demand during the September quarter, and five localities from the Pune housing market also made it to the list of top-10 localities in terms of demand. Mani also added, “With the latest development after stamp duty reduction, the situation of unsold inventory in the region is improving; the housing markets in the West region have the highest share in the overall unsold inventory as Mumbai and Pune put together contribute 56% to the national unsold stock. And if the current momentum stays, we are going to see a better 2021 for the real estate sector in MMR region.”

RTMI prices are at par with some of the under-construction projects in many areas. This is pushing the pent-up demand from homebuyers to invest in these units. GST charges are not applicable on the ready to move in homes, stamp duty reduction is further giving the boost. As per the recent real estate reports, MMR has close to 18,500 ready units available for sales across different price points. This is a win-win situation for even the affordable buyers seeking to create a future asset. The discount offers announced by the reputed developers come with a timeline, now with positive signs of market gaining the lost momentum, chances are of these offers being withdrawn.

Sanjeev Arora, Director, 360 realtors said, “Maharashtra has emerged as one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in India following the reduction in stamp duty. In major markets like Pune, Mumbai (and the nearby regions which is collectively called the Mumbai Metropolitan Region or MMR), we have registered a jump in sales to the tune of 77% during the Sept- Nov period, when compared to the Jun- Aug period. In Pune and the outer skirts of Mumbai, there are also plenty of affordable and mid-income projects available (INR 30 Lacs- 75 Lacs), which are in sync with the demand of buyers in the region. Many prudent buyers are understanding that these times are conducive to purchase a home as prices are subdued and plenty of attractive schemes are there. These things might change in near future and hence the times are good to make the move.”
  
Adding on to the massive change one policy measure can bring in the entire sector of real estate across nation, Kushagr Ansal, Director, Ansal Housing Limited and President, CREDAI - Haryana, said, “For Central India, Mumbai is the property market with huge potential to drive investment. Similarly, for the Northern states, NCR region is the hotbed to create a spiraling growth, drive high-end investments and contribute to the overall economy. However, the robust policy measure like stamp duty reduction has been limited to MMR only, we sincerely feel it must be extended to major metropolitan in North as well to witness the market upliftment missing there.”