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Angel Broking's top pick from real estate sector are Godrej Properties, Sobha Developers and Oberoi Realty.

The year 2020 may have been sluggish for the realty sector but sales in 2021 have witnessed an uptick. Lower home loans rates, discounts from builders, reduced stamp duty and need for a bigger space induced by work from home amid Covid-outbreak seems to have brightened up the prospects of realty sector.

Sample this: A survey by realty estate consultancy ANAROCK released Tuesday reveals that unsold inventory of ready-to-move homes in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) dropped 8% despite new launches.

“MMR saw 14,820 new units added in Q1 2021 – the highest among the top 7 cities – yet robust sales in Q1 2021 and Q4 2020 significantly dented the overall unsold stock in the region. Housing sales are driven by bottomed-out property prices, limited-period stamp duty cuts, developer discounts and lowest-best home loan rates,” ANAROCK Property Consultants said.

Approx. 20,350 units were sold in MMR in Q1 2021, of which 68% (approx. 13,750 units) were sold in Mumbai, 18% (approx. 3,650 units) in Navi Mumbai and 14% (approx. 2,950 units) in Thane.
“Mumbai is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world,” Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants said. “A reduction in overall acquisition cost by anything between 5-15% made a huge difference in buyer sentiments. Low home loan interest rates and developer discounts, and timely intervention of the government by ways of stamp duty reductions and a 50% cut in premium charges also helped the region get its mojo back even during COVID-19,” he added.