Already in doldrums, the real estate business has taken further dip in the city with the change in property transfer rules by the Improvement Trust.Real estate experts feel that the crucial Assembly elections have already picked up pace in the state. Prevalence of election scenario always reflected negatively on the property business as buyers become elusive from markets.Real estate dealer Gurjodh Singh Ahluwalia said trade would pick up only after the formation of a new government. He added that the change of norms by the Improvement Trust to debar plot holders from transferring their plots have further deepened the downturn in the industry.Real estate business has been under depression since the Union and state governments brought changes in norms for investing liquidity and registration of property. Besides, slow demand and availability of vast inventory also offered a demand and supply advantage in the favour of buyers in the holy city.Various policy changes introduced by the Union and state governments failed to lift the sagging morale of the trade while buyers are rare to find for the high-valued property prices.A real estate entrepreneur, Harjinder Singh, said as per the latest norms, all buyers would have to submit their PAN card numbers and other transaction proofs which had blocked the entry of unaccounted wealth in the real estate sector.Hence, the sector did not retain the charm for financers and investors to multiply their investments. He said real buyers in the need of houses were found in the market. A majority of the buyers in this segment were in affordable housing.However, the change in norms by the Improvement Trust denied new buyers to procure properties in the open market. He added that the business interest of the trust would also suffer as it earned hefty money on each transfer of plot. Sanjeev Rampal of the Majha Property Dealers Association, said the property business had been under slump for a long time.Even as the district administration reduced circle rates between 15 and 25 per cent in the city, the move failed to lift the sagging morale of the real estate market, he averred.He felt the government must offer incentives to first home buyers and give them first housing loan at a low rate of interest to achieve its objective of housing for all. He said the slump was palpable. It was visible from the steep downfall in the revenue from the stamp duty to the state government. He added that the government must rationalise the collector rate in all districts of the state to help revive the trade.
[Source:-The Tribune]
