MUMBAI: In 2021, Greater Mumbai recorded the highest apartment sales in a decade with total property registrations of 1.1 lakh flats. This was 70% more than in the previous year and 45% higher than the pre-pandemic year of 2019, said a report.
The previous annual high was 80,746 in 2018.
The western suburbs (Bandra to Dahisar) were the most prominent market this year, according to property consultancy firm, Knight Frank India. Apartment sales contributed about 53% in this belt followed by the central suburbs with a sales contribution of 31% in 2021.
December 2021 also stood out to be the month with the fastest per day registrations in the last five months.
In December alone, the Mumbai market recorded registrations of 9,320 units, which is higher by 23% month-on-month (MoM). In comparison to the same period last year (December 2020) that had the lowest stamp duty rate, registrations were recorded to be lower by 52% year-on-year. December 2021 continues to maintain the strong sales momentum that has continued in the absence of any government sops,'' it said.
"Notwithstanding, the uncertainty of the Omicron variant, the daily sales rate accelerated towards the latter part of the month. Compared to the daily sales rate of 293 registrations per day in the first twenty days of December, it increased to 314 registrations per day during the remaining 11 days of the month,'' said the report.
As much as 83% of the total sales in the city this year were for 1,000 sq ft apartments. Flats up to 500 sq ft contributed 42% of the total registrations closely followed by those in the 500- 1000 sq ft range, which accounted for 41%. The 1,000 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft segment contributed 13% of housing sales.
The biggest demand was for flats worth Rs one crore and below. "Properties in price bracket under Rs one crore continue to dominate the market in December 2021 with a contribution of 53% to total sales. Those in the range of Rs one crore to Rs five crore amounted to 42% of the total sales.
Shishir Baijal, chairman & MD, Knight Frank India, said, "Despite being the most expensive market in India, factors like lower capital values and decadal low home loan interest rates have made Mumbai more affordable than previous years."
Government revenue through stamp duty in December 2021 exceeded that of December 2020. The state collected Rs 738 crore this month, with the stamp duty at 5%, compared to Rs 681 crore in December 2020 when the stamp duty was just 2%.
