KOZHIKODE: Narendra Modi’s demonetisation moves has proved to be a direct missile hit on the realty business in northern Kerala with registrars confirming that property registrations in northern Kerala were down by 36.3 per cent in November over October.
The registrations department earned Rs 16.73 crore less in November than the October revenue of Rs 45.06 crore.
The district registrar (general) of Kozhikode, C Sasi said two reasons are responsible for this: The people are busier exchanging their demonetized high denomination notes rather than buy stamp paper and pay registration fees for property transactions. But that’s the nice thing to say. The not-so-nice thing is this: Realty has always been a haven for black money, and now black money hoarders have fled the market.
Since registration fee payments used to be paid and accepted in hard cash, real estate developers are demanding that the government show them an alternative mode of payment. “The currency crisis is expected to continue, so the government should allow us to pay registration fees online through demand drafts and other modes,” said the state governing council member of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) M A Mehaboob.
Developers and realty consultants say unorganised builders and the secondary (resale) property market would be adversely impacted by demonetisation. “Big builders and organised players will be unaffected as they were already using the bank channel. The impact will be felt in the secondary market and unorganised segment of the market where cash dealings are the norm,” Mehaboob said.
“A downward pressure on land prices also seems likely. This will boost demand in the sector,” he said.