Why Mumbai s property market offers a clue on what will happen to British house prices
Sales in December rose 200pc following a stamp duty cut, but Mumbai is hurtling towards its own March 31 deadline
23 February 2021 • 6:00am
The property market in Mumbai has been massively boosted by a stamp duty cut very similar to Britain s
Credit: Akshay Mandilia / EyeEm
Our market has an unlikely mirror in Mumbai, where the Government has similarly slashed the tax bill for buyers who can complete before March 31.
As in the UK, sales in Mumbai duly exploded. But in January the Government there took measures to taper the tax break, and the market reacted immediately.
A short-lived tale of a monkey’s breech baby
BySridhar VivanSridhar Vivan / Updated: Feb 20, 2021, 09:03 IST
The
monkey went into labour in a housing society and was in excruciating pain
An animal rescue is easy when it is injured, and a little first aid does the trick until professional intervention. But
Binny Mill, a resident of ETA Gardens, was in a fix when he spotted a monkey in terrible pain while giving birth. By the time the doctors arrived, the baby monkey had died.
Bhavin Thakker, a businessman, said he received a call from his building’s
security guard at around 9 am on Thursday. “I immediately called
Explained: What does reduction in premium mean? Will it benefit Maharashtra’s real estate developers and homebuyers?
Reduced premiums can make projects viable for developers and help avoid project delays due to funding issues; lower development costs to realtors would mean lower purchase cost to homebuyers, which in turn can help boost demand.
Premium typically refers to the charges that are levied by the state with respect to approvals for initiating, progressing, and completing the area or additional area in a project.
After reducing stamp duties in the state from 5 percent to 2 percent until December 31, 2020, to boost residential sales, the Maharashtra government is now contemplating reducing the premiums on real estate projects by at least half, following recommendations of the Deepak Parekh Committee.