Pune is a "genuine space for home buyers" and tops the list of six metro regions in the country, including Mumbai and NCR, as far as pace of sale is concerned, shows a recent survey by real estate rating and research consultant Liases Foras.

At the current pace of buying, Pune homes will be sold the fastest, taking just 14 months to sell its 43.06 million (430 lakh) sq ft, the survey states. The RBI cutting lending rate to banks last month has led to cheaper home loans, boosting the sales further.

Pune real estate is a genuine buyers' rather than investors' market. "Pune market has always been up and will continue to go up," said Satish Magar, president, CREDAI-Pune Metro. "Supply is as per demand and we have a good number of genuine buyers rather than investors unlike other metros," said Magar.

The study covered units in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR)- Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai-the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

CREDAI vice-president Rohit Gera, who has conducted a survey in the city, said the Pune realty market has always been considered very bouyant. "Overall supply position as published by us shows that 80 percent gets sold out. This a very healthy position and part of the reason Pune has seen a sharp increase in buyers," said Gera.

He explained that the Pune market has not seen any sharp increase in prices as against other markets. "It is a reasonably mature market and one has not seen any sudden, sharp or indiscriminate price rise and developers have been keen on not raising prices too much. Considering the present rates, one sees continuous buying and selling and the market has always been an active one. While Mumbai may be second to Delhi in unsold homes, it has also been assessed that a steep rise in interest rates in the last 18 months was a key reason for low sales as buyers try to avoid high home loans," he added.

"The RBI rate cut has been to the advantage for the Pune market in particular,'' said a broker in Kothrud area that has seen a lot of buying and selling.
As against Mumbai, property prices in Pune are definitely lower, said Rohit Rao, an IT professional who shifted from Mumbai to Pune and brought a property here. "In Mumbai the realty market is beyond our reach,'' he said.

The survey states that Pune, although closer to the Mumbai market, sees higher sales in residential units despite having just half the units built in Mumbai because of high costs in Mumbai. Land cost is also higher in Mumbai pushing up project costs.

The Liases Foras report says Bangalore with 71.29 million sq ft and Chennai 42.75 million sq ft of unsold homes will be cleared in 20 months. But Hyderabad may take 38 months to sell its 33.82 million sq ft residential units as political unrest in the city pulls down buyer sentiment. According to MCHI-CREDAI, there are nearly 500 projects awaiting environmental clearance.

Source : Indian Express

1% TDS withdrawn on immovable property deals

On this Monday, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has announced the withdrawal of 1% TDS on immovable property deals. He said” The Finance Bill proposes that every transferee of immovable property (other than agricultural land), at the time of making payment for transfer of the property, shall deduct tax at the rate of 1% of such sum. I have received a number of representations pointing out the additional compliance burden this measure would impose. I, therefore, propose to withdraw this provision for levy of TDS on transfer of immovable property.”

“As far as withdrawal of TDS on immovable property is concerned it is a welcome move and will generate positive sentiments. We are glad that the government rolled back the 1% TDS proposal on immovable properties. This has decreased the burden of the buyer who had to deduct the amount and submit it with the tax authorities. The roll back of the TDS will make the buyer easily accessible for a property transaction. Earlier the entire procedure of the TDS was complicated as the buyer had to provide personal details along with the property details and mentioning of the seller in the tax deduction form”, Ravi Saund, COO, CHD Developers Ltd. said.

Similarly, MCHI-CREDAI also welcomed the move Finance Minister Mr. Pranab Mukherjee’s decision to withdraw TDS on immovable property. This will help generate positive trends, though in a limited way, in the real estate market, said Paras Gundecha, President – MCHI-CREDAI.

Gundecha also urged the Finance Minister to take much more pragmatic steps like easy loans at concessional rates of interest for home buyers to help revive buying trends in the industry. Real Estate contributes handsomely to GDP and it is vital for the economic growth, he added.

By Accommodation Times Bureau