CHB auction a damp squib

Out of total 31 sites identified in Chandigarh and Manimajra for the auction on leasehold basis by the Property Allotment Committee of the Chandigarh Housing Board, only five went under the hammer.

Participants at the auction could hardly touch double digit. This, despite the fact that the sites are auctioned at a very marginal difference between the reserve price and the highest bid.

The five built-up booths 8212; three at Manimajra and two in Sector 51 8212; were sold for a total amount of Rs 1.55 crore against the reserve price of Rs 1.43 crore. The three sites were auctioned with the maximum difference of Rs 6.10 lakh in the reserve price and the final bid. There were no takers for the rest 26 sites, which included lucrative options like corner booth and bay shop with basement.

The average price fetched was around Rs 1.42 lakh per sq. yard. The highest bid of Rs 26.10 lakh was for Booth No. 16 at Manimajra, 30.50 per cent over and above the reserve price of Rs 20 lakh. The rate worked out to around Rs 1.73 lakh per sq. yard in this case.nbsp;

Among the other booths sold in Manimajra, Booth No. 19 fetched Rs 32.30 lakh reserve price Rs 29.50 lakh and Booth No. 21 got Rs 30.80 reserve price Rs 29.50 lakh.

In Sector 51, Booth No. 7 and Booth No. 10 were sold for Rs 32.90 lakh each against the reserve price of Rs 32 lakh. The rest of the booths were withdrawn from the auction due to lack of sufficient bidders.nbsp;nbsp;

Market experts claim that beside the liquidity crunch, inflation and the stock market crash have hit the real estate sector hard, resulting in the poor response to the CHB auction for commercial sites.

A senior CHB official said this was a very poor response from the buyer8217;s market.