The Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps (IGR) department has registered a 28% rise in property registrations for the first five months of the financial year, as compared to the last year. This surely indicates a rise in buyers’ faith in the realty market under RERA. The government has initiated several measures to bring about transparency and accountability in the sector. According to market watchers, it is no longer an investment driven market but one for the end users.
After the ready reckoner rates were announced, there were 2,01,764 property registrations in the state in the last financial year. If experts are to be believed, the numbers, which increased to 2,58,051 registrations are further expected to rise with the festive season. According to the officials of the department, there is an increase in the registrations for all kinds of properties post MahaRERA and GST. They also stated that the past five months have witnessed more documents and increased generation of revenue collection too.
Market watchers attribute the rise to transparency in the realty sector now and the developers completing projects on time. Previously, with projects not being completed and buyers not willing to invest, the market suffered a slump. RERA has boosted the completion of projects which in turn, has won the confidence of buyers. Post-demonetization, the secondary market witnessed a rise and builders went into distress sales which changed after RERA and before GST. Experts have also noted that the 28% growth in the number of registrations is substantial, but comprises all properties and land transactions.
With the festive season being just around the corner, property deals are expected to flourish further. For the first time in 2-3 years, an investment-friendly positive atmosphere has emerged which was reflected in registrations. Developers have also announced attractive deals during Dussehra and Diwali. It is interesting to note that the high number of registrations of ongoing projects under MahaRERA will lead to a surge in the demand for real estate. Further, it will also provide greater options to homebuyers for buying properties under the highly transparent act. This is believed to act as a catalyst for growth in the real estate sector.
The key factors that have boosted the confidence of the buyers include, easy loans, confidence investment due to RERA registration, GST reducing the tax burden, and the central government incentive for low-income and middle-income groups. Experts also add that the fact that there were probably more properties available in the market last year as compared to this year cannot be dismissed. However, they unanimously maintain that it is the government’s initiative to track benami transactions, demonetization and MahaRERA that have encouraged buyers to have confidence.
