Not ‘cracker’ of a Diwali,but the mood is sparkling

The region-wise yearly targets are set up by the central offices and the yearly target for Pune region,which includes districts of Pune,Satara,Sangli,Kolhapur and Solapur,is Rs 1,90,000 crore. While 50 per cent of the target had been achieved by this time last year,the corresponding figure this year is around 46 per cent.

Officials point out that increase in the valuation of land over the year helps the department meet the targets,but when it comes to registration of documents,the effect is felt. “We have seen lesser number of documents have been registered this year compared to last year. This shows a sluggish trend in the market,” said a senior official from the district.

Escalation in land prices,raw material instability in the markets and the sharp depreciation of rupee are being cited as reasons for the slowdown in the real estate market. The bookings the realtors talk about are mostly from NRIs who wish to invest in India taking advantage of the rupee fall.

D S Kulkarni,chief managing director of the DSK Group,confirmed the sluggish trend. “Compared to last few years’ property purchase trends during the festive season,I would say,it is quite dull and sluggish this year,” he said.

He added that the fall of the rupee had elicited enquiries from NRIs but no high amount of booking was registered.

Kulkarni’s sentiments were in contrast to the observations of Shrikanth Paranjape,vice-president of CREDAI,Pune Metro,who said the festive season had shown encouraging customer response. “The period from Navratri to Diwali has seen a hype in the property purchase,especially in the affordable segment,” he said.

According to Anil Pharande,another vice-president of CREDAI,Pune Metro,the affordable segment involves houses lying in the price range of Rs 4,000-5,000 per square foot.

Brotin Banerjee,MD and CEO of Tata Housing,said booking depended on market,location and pricing. “We have seen better booking in our projects this festive season,” he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Sudhir Darode,president,Marathi Bandhkam Vyavaseek Association,who hoped that the positive trend in the market would continue post Diwali.

In the re-sale sector,the situation is particularly poor. Property watcher Ravi Karandeekar said a host of factors,such as lack of proper promotions by the original property owners,buyer sentiments that prefer new constructions than used one,were responsible for this. “The listings of the resale properties seem have been unchanged for the last few years,and of late there has been a slight rise in the numbers. But unfortunately,we do not see any specific mechanism to advertise or market their properties,” he said.

Summing up the sentiments,Karandeekar said the Pune real estate market had of late plateaued,with little chances of ups or downs.