Property transactions plummet in Chennai, suburbs

Data available with the Registration Department reveals that the number of property transactions in Chennai and its suburbs in Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts has come down substantially in the last two months. In May 2007, the number of documents registered in the five district registrar offices was 51,583. Of these, 80 per cent was property-related. In September, the volume came down to 36,748. Property transactions in the suburbs in Chengalpattu district, including Sriperumbudur that had the highest volume of transaction in the State, dropped by 30 per cent. The market has been experiencing a lull in the last few months. Senior Registration Department officials have been observing a slow-down in transactions, and the data compiled recently confirms this. A.V. Ramasamy, chairman, Builders’ Association of India’s southern centre, attributes the slowdown to the wait-and-watch attitude of buyers who, he reckons, are not willing to buy at the current prices. C.H. Gopinath Rao, former national president, Institution of Valuers, says property dealers had bought land at high prices. In some cases they had paid huge sums in advance. They don’t want to sell now as the prices are falling. He says the increase in guideline values is not a reason for the slowdown. They have been raised within the city, but remain well below the market value in the suburbs. The additional rise in property cost due to guideline values is only marginal. The property values went spiralling even after the revised guideline values were put up for public opinion in 2006. However, the revenue through stamp duty and registration charges has not dropped. The upward revision in guideline values, between 50 and 150 per cent, which have been in force since August 1, helped to stabilise the revenue collection.