“Showing signs of revival, the property sales across MMR have improved in the second quarter of 2020, especially during the festive season. Measures like lower property rates, reduction in stamp duty and home loan interest rates have been influential in easing the rising course of real estate sales this year,” said Ashok Mohanani, President, NAREDCO Maharashtra.
In an exclusive interview with RoofandFloor, he talked about the real estate market in MMR, upcoming localities, and his wishlist for 2021.
Here are the excerpts.
What are your expectations from MMR’s real estate market in 2021?
Post lockdown, with a gradual opening up of the economy, the Indian real estate sector is trying to bounce back to normalcy. The real estate sector is showing signs of growth and sales numbers are increasing across cities with policy support from the Central Government.
Showing signs of revival, the property sales across MMR have improved in the second quarter of 2020, especially during the festive season. Measures like lower property rates, reduction in stamp duty and home loan interest rates have been influential in easing the rising course of real estate sales this year. We can say that as it is currently a buyers’ market with affordability in terms of property purchase being on the upsurge.
Talking about 2020, which markets witnessed maximum launches?
MMR saw 7,890 units launched in Q3 2020 against 10,490 units in Q1 2020 – reaching nearly 75% of the pre-Covid quarter, based on the latest reports. Locations such as Thane, Boisar, Bhiwandi, Mulund, Kalyan-Dombivli, and Panvel have seen new launches in the year 2020.
What were the most preferred BHK configurations and budget ranges across the region? Was the supply aligned according to the demand?
We have seen a relatively high demand in the affordable sector as well as in the mid-luxury sector. The projects priced between Rs 2-3 Crore have sold well in Mumbai. Though, affordable is a very wide term, a consumer can afford upto Rs 70 Lakh or sometimes upto Rs 1Cr, that essentially is the sweet spot, with inventory moving fast.
We have witnessed the millennials to invest more in properties now than earlier as they have realised the need of a home. Mentioning about preferred configurations, we see that a 2-bedroom residence is selling like hot cakes in the market and wherever the budget permits, consumers do prefer bigger spaces and end up taking 3-bed residences as well.
The supply was absolutely aligned according to the demand as developers have been keeping a close watch on the trend among the consumer behaviour towards buying properties.
Which areas are expected to see maximum real estate development in the coming year?
The extended suburbs of Mumbai are expected to witness maximum real estate development in the coming year. Markets such as Thane, Panvel, Ulwe, Mira Road, Vasai, Virar, and Kalyan-Dombivli are in the state of rapid construction process.
What about the unsold inventory in the city?
In order to boost housing demand, the Finance Minister had announced measures like an additional outlay of around Rs 18,000 crore for PM Awas Yojana. This relief is expected to lift up the demand, particularly in the affordable and mid housing segments. Similarly, the increase in the differential in property rates and ready reckoner rates to 20% from the current 10% will aid in clearing the unsold stock, thus pushing up the sales.
The wishlist
The industry players anticipate the upcoming Budget for Financial Year (FY) 2020-21 to:
- Relax income tax norms
- Offer single-window clearance, and
- Announce GST reforms
To give relief to homebuyers, industry wants the government to re-visit the present limit of Rs 2 Lakh for interest on home loan, and cap of this Rs 2 Lakh in interest should be done away with.