During the Covid-19 pandemic, the city of dreams – Mumbai finally made a bet big on real estate. This sudden bump in the real estate market seems to be an outcome of the major reduction in stamp duty, reduced home loan interest rates, and attractive offers being provided by developers. These factors collectively have made it the perfect time to invest in real estate. Besides that, the market is healing slowly. In simple words, you can say that it is in a stable recovery phase, which shows these offerings might get rolled back soon. In November 2020 home sales volume in Mumbai was recorded to be 9,301 units.

Mani Rangarajan, Group COO,Housing.com, Makaan.com, and Proptiger.com stated, “One of the catalysts for a huge jump in residential sales in MMR is the reduction in stamp duty. However, the interest of homebuyers also got a boost due to low home loan interest rates, festival season, pent-up demand, stagnant property prices, and incentives/offers given by the developers. We believe that real estate has now picked up the momentum, and it is going to continue to the next year. The market is flush with options and buyers are responding positively to any step which is going to help them save some money. The situation has started improving in MMR after the Unlock.” 

 Real Insight Report for Q3 2020 by Proptiger Data Labs states that residential home sales aggregated to 35,132 units in Q3. The number is increased by 85% over the last quarter. Thane West in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) was the biggest contribution to demand in the September quarter. Besides that in terms of demand five localities from the Pune housing market have also made it to the list of top-10 localities. Mani also said that with the latest development after stamp duty reduction, the condition of unsold inventory in the area is improving. He further added that the housing markets in the West region possess the highest share in the overall unsold inventory as Mumbai and Pune put together contribute 56% to the national unsold stock. And if the current momentum stays, the real-estate market is going to see a better 2021 in MMR region.”

RTMI prices are on average including some of the under-construction projects in many areas. This is driving the pent-up demand from homebuyers to invest in these units. GST charges do not apply on the ready to move-in homes, stamp duty reduction is also giving the boost. According to the recent real estate reports, MMR has close to 18,500 ready units available for sales over different price points. It is a kind of win-win situation for affordable buyers seeking to create a future asset. The discount prices offered by the reputed developers come with a timeline. It is a positive sign of the market getting back the lost momentum, chances are of these offers being withdrawn.

“Maharashtra has emerged as one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in India following the reduction in stamp duty. In major markets like Pune, Mumbai (and the nearby regions which is collectively called the Mumbai Metropolitan Region or MMR), we have registered a jump in sales to the tune of 77% during the Sept- Nov period, when compared to the Jun- Aug period. In Pune and the outer skirts of Mumbai, there are also plenty of affordable and mid-income projects available (INR 30 Lacs- 75 Lacs), which are in sync with the demand of buyers in the region. Many prudent buyers are understanding that these times are conducive to purchase a home as prices are subdued and plenty of attractive schemes are there. These things might change in near future and hence the times are good to make the move.” said Sanjeev Arora, Director, 360 realtors.

Likewise, in the Northern states, NCR region is the hotbed to create significant growth, drive high-end investments, and contribute to the overall economy.