Additional Stamp Duty will hit home sales in Mumbai
Developers say the Maharashtra government’s move to levy an additional stamp duty on property transactions to fund infrastructure will hurt home sales in Mumbai even as they try to revive demand with discounts and freebies. The state proposes to levy a 1 percent surcharge on stamp duty. The existing stamp duty on houses in Mumbai is 5 percent. The proposal, if accepted, will increase it to 6 percent, making houses more expensive. Housing demand is yet to revive from the disruption caused by the note ban and a new housing law. Sales are yet to pick up though new launches surged in Mumbai in the first half of this year, according to Knight Frank India. While property prices have fallen in India’s second-largest real estate market, they remain highest in the country driven by land costs. An average one-bedroom apartment in Mumbai starts at Rs 45 lakh and can go as high as Rs 1.5 crore.
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