Maha property registrations & revenue drops by 60% due to Covid-19 curbs

Maharashtra has witnessed an almost 60% drop in property registrations and revenue in the first 45 days of the current financial year compared to pre-Covid average monthly registrations due to Covid-19 restrictions imposed by local authorities. Property registration officials told the media the drop in registrations alone for the first 45 days was about 65% as compared to March this year. An official told the media, on average, Maharashtra would register 2.3 lakh property documents per month before the Covid-19 pandemic began, which generated around Rs 2,200 crore in revenue per month. Around 1.34 lakh property documents were registered in April, leading to a revenue of Rs 845 crore, the official said, citing the data. In May, the registrations till May 19 stood at 49,775, which brought in Rs 666 crore in revenue, the official stated. The state government restored the stamp duty to 6% throughout the state and 5% in Mumbai from April 1, which too has impacted the registrations, said potential buyers who were hoping the stamp duty waiver to be extended. Maharashtra had slashed stamp duty charges to 3% between September 1, 2020, and December 2020 in a bid to boost real estate sales amidst the slowdown caused due to the first wave of Covid-19. The government then continued it with a 2% reduction from January- March in 2021. According to data by the Inspector General of Registration (IGR), Maharashtra, the stamp duty cut period between September 2020 and March 2021 noted a growth of 114% in registrations against the same period last year, September 2019 to March 2020. Prashant Thakur, Director and Head – Research, Anarock Property Consultants, told the media that despite the stamp duty cuts, the state government recorded almost the same volume of registration revenue as it did last year in the same period. According to Thakur, ever since the state government decided to slash the stamp duty cut starting April 1, there has been a drop in property registrations. Image SourceAlso read: Property registrations in Mumbai drop by 50% in April Also read: Mumbai witnesses over 10,000 property registrations in April 2021 Also read: Maharashtra announces 50% off on housing premiums