Builders should offer discounts to sell units worth Rs 66,000 crore amid COVID-19 outbreak : Anarock

Property brokerage firm Anarock on Friday said cash-starved builders are sitting on ready-to-move-in housing units worth Rs 66,000 crore across seven cities and asked them to offer discounts to clear their finished unsold stocks during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
According to Anarock, there were 78,000 unsold ready-to-move-in flats at the end of March quarter across seven cities namely Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region(MMR), Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. These units are worth about Rs 65,950 crore.

"Developers need to take a call on what they want to do with their unsold inventory, depending on their holding capacity and financial distress, if any," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri told PTI.

"Organized developers with strong balance sheets are less apt to offer discounts, but those which need liquidity urgently will need to consider their options. These would include discounted prices and other incentives," he added.

The unsold ready-to-move-in units contribute 12 per cent of the total unsold stocks of over 6.44 lakh units. The remaining 88 per cent are under construction.

Puri also advised first time homebuyers to negotiate hard with builders and get a good deal on ready-to-move-in apartments. He said interest rates on home loans are low at 7.15-7.8 per cent.

"The lockdown period has kick-started rapid technology-led evolution on the Indian real estate market," said Puri.

"Some states are now also mulling the introduction of e-registration of property documents, thereby completing the entire value chain. This is necessary since physical site visits are unlikely to pick up quickly even after the lockdown ends, as both buyers and sellers will remain wary," he added.