Affordable segment share in property sales drops to 43%: Report

According to a report by PropTiger, 43% of all property sales in India's eight main housing markets were within the price category of Rs 45 lakh, a cap required to qualify for specific government incentives on home purchases in India. As per the report, government policy support is likely to boost the attraction for affordable homes in India in 2021. As a result, the world's second most populated country witnessed an increase in both annual home sales and supply. In 2021, the annual round-up of 2021 home sales in eight leading housing markets of India reached 13% compared to the total sales in 2020. India allows first-time homebuyers an extra tax deduction of Rs 1.50 lakh under Section 80EEA of its income tax code if the unit is worth up to Rs 45 lakh. A borrower who qualifies for the government's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Program may be eligible for a subsidy. As per the report, in 2021, the up-to-Rs-45-lakh-price bracket contributed 41% to the annual new supply in these eight markets. Overall, 2.14 lakh units were introduced in 2021 in these markets compared to 1.22 lakh units in the previous year, showcasing an upward swing of 75%. The residential markets covered in the report include Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. The Central Government outlay of Rs 48,000 to increase the supply in the affordable housing segment in rural and urban areas is a step that would accelerate the vision of Housing for all. Ankita Sood, Head and Research, PropTiger, told the media that besides boosting the supply, there is also a requirement to boost the demand in the sector via tax rebates, stamp duty waivers and by increasing the capping for homes to qualify as affordable homes in metro cities to further incentivise homebuyers. Image Source Also read: Affordable housing in Gujarat vital to match requirements: NAREDCO