12 per cent drop in real estate business
The financial year 2016-17 has brought little cheer for the real estate sector as house sales plummeted to a three-year low. As buyers seem to develop cold feet in an uncertain job market, the builders, in turn, are taking measures like cutting down on newer projects to deal with the situation. As per figures released by the office of Inspector General of Stamp Duty and Registration (IGR) , there has been a 12 per cent drop in real estate business. Figures show that 18,91,383 documents were registered across the state by the end of February 2017. February 2016 had seen 20,80,470 documents and the end of February 2015 had seen 20,83,624 documents being registered. Documents refer to the registration of sales deed for houses, land parcels etc. Over the last few years, the real estate scenario in Pune and other cities in Maharashtra has seen a stagnation with builders complaining of slow sales. The figures show real estate sales have significantly gone down in the fag end of the current financial year. Months of May and June were relatively better with 2,12,099 and 2,16,911 registrations recorded but since July the numbers have shown a decline. November — the month of demonetisation— was the worst as only 1,20,022 deeds were registered. By the end of February, the state has collected Rs 17,702.56 crore as revenue from the registration was Rs 18,927 crore. If the relators blame the reluctance of buyers to invest, buyers say the real estate prices are exorbitant for them in Pune. Sunil Pawar, an employee of an auto manufacturer, said investments in areas like Aundh, Baner, Vishrantwadi cost more than a crore. “A single income person will find it difficult to buy a house in Pune at this juncture,” he said. However, builders have a different take. Manish Maheshwari, MD of Pune-based Majestique Landmarks said, demonetisation had resulted in a slowdown in the industry for three months. “Since then, the numbers have picked up and I guess by March-end, we will see the numbers matching that of last year’s,” he said. Ruling out any chances of a price drop, he said, the mid-segment housing might see a 20 per cent rise in prices in the coming financial year. “As builders, we know the present situation in the industry and so a price drop is definitely not in the picture,” he said.
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