Home registration jumped 61% since stamp duty soap, Real Estate News, ET Real Estate

KolkataRegistration of : residential Sales agreements in December 2022 increased by 7% compared to the previous month. Moreover, in the 18 months since the introduction of stamp duty exemption by the state government in July 2021, the registration figures have increased by 61% as compared to the figures seen in the 18 months prior to that.

However, the registration in December 2022 was 17% less than that of December 2021. Homes below 500 sqft took the biggest hit with a 33% drop in registrations in a year. Developers said the decline was due to two reasons: a hike in home loan interest rates and the government announcing a cut in stamp duty rates, which meant that urgency had eased.

According to real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank, the Kolkata Metropolitan Area saw registration of 3,274 sales in December 2022. While this was higher than November 2022 – when 3,047 residential sale agreements were registered – it was significantly lower than the count in December 2021, when 3,968 agreements were registered.

Since the announcement of the initial stamp duty reduction in July 2021, over 76,000 residential properties have been registered in the city for the period July 2021-December 2022. In the last 18 months, 47,317 units were registered.

Apartments in the size range of 501-1,000 sqft accounted for half of the total registrations in December 2022. The share of large unit sizes of more than 1,001 sqft was 29%. Smaller units up to 500 sqft comprised 21% of the total.

knight frank india Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said: “A further extension of stamp duty incentive will provide relief to potential buyers as home loans have become costlier over the past year and a half.”

Abhijit Das, Senior Director (East), Knight Frank India, said, “The stamp duty exemption has helped developers to sustain home buying demand. This measure will continue to enthuse homebuyers as loan rates continue to trend north. The continued support of the government in this context will go a long way in sustaining and developing the momentum of the housing market. The state government had last month extended the incentive till March 31, 2023.