Price-drop, cheaper loans boost house sales to 8-yr high in Mumbai

Months into the pandemic with a vaccine yet to be discovered, India’s financial capital Mumbai is seeing a jump in house sales. The sales jumped to an eight-year high in October, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday quoting data from Knight Frank.

The pandemic witnessed a big halt on all economic operations and job losses and financial woes for many. Besides, the past three years have entirely been a sad story for the real estate market following a banking crisis that choked the credit process. The report further said Mumbai prices by June-end were 0.45% lower than the 2018 quarter.

The authorities are looking at the positive side in this rise in house sales despite the grim economic situation. Construction sector is the biggest employment provider in India and an increase in constructions could act as a catalyst for several sectors, including banks to consumer goods manufacturers. This, amid the pandemic job-losses, is a good signal.

This has got the financiers on their toes and loan mortgages are back in the post-pandemic loan ecosystem. In the April-October period, home loans saw a 2.6% growth even though overall loans fell 0.5%, the report said quoting Reserve Bank of India data.

CRISIL ratings suggest affordability has improved across the 10 biggest cities in India by 35% compared to five years ago, which along with 16-year low interest rates and tax and price discounts are giving buyers the best buying environment. Besides, buyers in top cities are getting incentive schemes including free amenities and delayed payments.

According to Godrej Properties CEO Mohit Malhotra, the prices have hit the bottom and people who were not sure of making the move, have now taken the call to buy.