With the current financial year drawing to a close, real estate in Maharashtra is seeing a major revival of sorts. The department of registration and stamps has confirmed that more than 90% revenues for 2017-18 have come from registration of almost 18.5 lakh documents as of mid-February, 2018. Close to 22 lakh documents are expected to be registered by the end of March, 2018. The Ready Reckoner Rates could also be declared in April. The department has also scaled up revenue goals to Rs. 23, 000 crore for this fiscal.
The final month of the financial year is expected to generate a large number of registrations. Post demonetization, the number of registrations went down considerably. For 2016-17, there were 20.45 lakh registrations and collections of Rs. 21, 011 crore for the department. The registration figures finally became stable once MahaRERA was declared in May, 2017.
Demonetization and GST led to an initial lull in the real estate sector. However, buyer sentiments have revived after the introduction of RERA. There is more transparency and accountability brought in by RERA which has boosted buying sentiments as per industry experts. Market sentiments have started going up in the third quarter of this financial year after buyers got more clarity on GST.
Stamp duty has also been scaled up by 1% by the Government. The focus is now falling on affordable and mid-level homes as opposed to premium and ultra-luxury properties as per experts. If the Ready Reckoner Rates are not increased, the sector will witness further stability. The Maharashtra Government has been happy at the increased revenues. The department of registration and stamps is the second highest revenue earner for Maharashtra currently according to reports. Real estate developers are also seeing a comeback of genuine buyers into the market once MahaRERA has been clearly established.
Some of this increase in registration may be attributed to some real estate developers selling off their plots. The market may be getting a small boost from more rental and land deals. Resale apartment deals have also gone up since there is no GST charged on ready-to-move-in properties.
