Sale of luxury homes in Mumbai shoots up

The government has restricted the long-term capital gain tax deduction for reinvestment in residential buildings to Rs 100 million in this year's budget. According to this new rule, the maximum benefit that can be obtained when investing in another property is only up to Rs 100 million if one sells a house or other assets, including stocks, and their gains exceed Rs 100 million. This provision was made pursuant to Sections 54 and 54F of the Income Tax Act, which deal with the reinvestment of the revenues from the sale of long-term assets (housing or other capital assets) to purchase residential properties. Capital gains exceeding Rs 100 million would be taxed beginning in April 2023. In order to take benefit of the capital gains, wealthy individuals in Mumbai are rushing to complete luxury home purchases before the end of the fiscal year in March. As a result, Mumbai's February 2023 revenue collection was the highest it had been in the previous five years, according to available data. Aside from that, the highest revenue collections for the entire FY 2022–23 occurred in February. 9,684 properties were registered, bringing in more than Rs 111,10 million for the state coffers. 82 per cent of the properties registered in February 2023 were residential, while 18 per cent were not, according to data from the state government. In February 2023, homebuyers continued to spend the same amount on housing, with properties worth less than Rs. 25 million accounting for 87 per cent of registered properties and those worth more than Rs. 25 million accounting for 13 per cent. Compared to the February 2022 average price of Rs 11.8 million for registered buildings, this month's average home price was Rs 19 million. The Metro cess contribution increased revenues in tandem with the value increase. As a result, the revenue collected in February reached a record level for the decade, with an average of Rs 390 million per day. This demonstrates the robustness of the mid- to high-end segment, which continues to thrive in the face of challenges. Market gurus have pointed out that HNIs and ultra-HNIs invest the majority of their capital gains tax savings into expensive residences, so, once the new regulation is in place, it might partially discourage the sale of luxury homes. So, a revised policy might be necessary to guarantee that the trajectory of future sales momentum will be similar.