Real estate, vehicle sales pick up in Mumbai this Akshaya Tritiya

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Akshaya Tritiya marks an auspicious day on the calendar in India, and Mumbaikars usually celebrate by buying or investing in new things. Vehicles and real estate have been two of the city's favourite things to invest in, although last year these plunged low on the list thanks to GST. This time, however, the real estate industry claims to have witnessed a 20 to 25 per cent rise in sales compared to last year, and sales of vehicles, too, went up from 232 to 291 this year.

Developers said GST on under-construction properties had discouraged home-buyers, but with the changes, there was response from buyers this season. Earlier, there were only enquiries, but this season the real estate industry saw those being converted into purchases, said developers. Even the transport department earned a revenue of over R78 lakh by registering 224 two-wheelers, 19 transport vehicles and 48 LMV non-transport vehicles.

'20-25% rise in sales'

"This Akshaya Tritiya brought in good luck for the real estate industry. We have witnessed a 20-25% rise in sales as compared to previous year. The stagnancy at the buyer's end was majorly due to GST on under-construction properties, which made them wait to invest. With the new GST structure in place, the prospects are walking in and the rate of conversion is pretty good. Overall, the sentiment during this festive season has reinstated the faith of both buyers and stakeholders and we are looking forward to a sustained growth in the days to come," said Rajan Bandelkar, president, NAREDCO, Maharashtra.

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