The post pandemic surge in property registrations in the State is mainly attributed to the resurgence of the economy - backlog of property sales during the pandemic being cleared now, investments in property in Bengaluru and farm lands elsewhere in the State picking up, among a host of other factors.
The first explanation many give is that there was a COVID-19 backlog being cleared now. “The guidance value rebate has had a positive impact. Many who were waiting for normalcy used the opportunity to register their committed property,” said Suresh Hari, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), Bengaluru.
However, neither the industry nor the Inspector General of Registration and Commissioner of Stamps (IGR&CS) agree that only a backlog clearance fuelled the phenomenon.
Mr. Hari said with companies returning to work from offices at least in a hybrid mode, people who had left the city are coming back. This has led to increased rental and demand for residential spaces, especially in the category that needs to be closer to their workplaces.
Sources in the industry also said during the two pandemic years, since everyone was couched at home, many have saved money and are now looking at investment options and real estate any day scores over most options. B.R. Mamatha Gowda, IGR&CS, Karnataka, said they had observed a lot of non-resident Bengalureans investing in properties in the city of late. “The city seems to have emerged as stable, well-managed during the pandemic, prompting many to invest here,” she said.
Another phenomenon fuelling the spike in property registrations is that many people from the city are buying farm lands elsewhere in the State. “With the government relaxing land ceiling under the Karnataka Land Reforms Act, 1961, many from the city are investing in farm lands across the State. While some are moving to the villages, some are being absentee farmers. Earlier, we used to see over 60% of the property registrations in the State happen in Bengaluru and the rest in districts. Now, we see that ratio being almost half each, indicating more transactions in agricultural land,” Ms. Gowda said.
