Mumbai Home Sales Fall In January. Anarock Doesn't See That As A Worry

India’s most expensive real estate market witnessed a slump in sales after peaking in December 2021. According to Anarock Property Consultants, people may be holding back purchases in anticipation of favourable announcements in the upcoming union budget, and the Marathi New Year.

Registrations fell 39% month-on-month till January 24 in Mumbai, according to a report by Anarock. Revenue fell 56% to Rs 334 crore in the same period, it said. It also attributed the trend to the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

“The real estate market in the state is expected to rebound quick as the Omicron variant is less severe and complete lockdown is not imposed across the state,” the report said. Anarock expects the sector to get a leg-up from festivals like Gudi Padwa which falls on April 2 and signifies the start of the Marathi New Year.

Overall registrations in Maharashtra stood at 92,055 as on Jan. 24, a 33% drop from December 2021. “The revenue from property registrations has also declined by 46% to Rs 1,274 crore during the same period,” Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock, was quoted as saying in a statement.

According to Puri, while property registrations were 40% year-on-year, revenue generated from them rose 8%, indicating that larger ticket sizes are gaining traction. “Average revenue per registration has increased by 78% in January 2022 compared to the same period last year.”

• Property registrations and revenue are higher by 10% and 25% respectively compared to May 2021, following the pandemic's second wave.

• Property registrations fell 43% year-on-year in January, owing to the temporary reduction in stamp duty in January 2021.

• Revenue from property registrations rose 10% owing to larger ticket size transactions.

• Average revenue per registration surged 93% over a year earlier to Rs 5.7 lakh in January 2022. That suggests demand for larger ticket size.