Property Registrations during Ganesh Festive season dropped by 10% in Mumbai : Knight Frank

The data from Maharashtra IGR compiled by Knight Frank India, a real estate consultancy, revealed that, the Mumbai real estate market saw a 10% decline in property registrations during the Ganesh festival in 2024, with a total of 3,400 registrations compared to 3,700 in 2023.

The Ganesh festival signals the beginning of the festive season in Mumbai. During the festival in 2023, from September 19 to September 28, there were seven working days, resulting in 3,782 property registrations. This gives an average of 540 registrations per day.  

In the Ganesh Festival 2024, which was observed on September 7^th to 17^th having seven working days, in total 3,405 properties were registered in Mumbai real estate market. The Knight Frank data estimated a 10% fall in property registration this year.

National Director- Research, Knight Frank India, Vivek Rathi, mentioned, "Although it's premature to draw conclusions from just a few days or weeks of market data, the high base effect and sluggish growth in certain key macroeconomic indicators suggest a slowdown in economic activities. Nevertheless, the fundamental factors driving housing demand remain robust. A potential cut in the policy repo rate, along with the approaching festive season, is likely to sustain momentum in housing sales."

According to the data unveiled by real estate data analytics firm Propequity, on a Y-o-Y basis in Q3FY24, the total absorption (sales) rose only in Delhi NCR (22%) and Navi Mumbai (4%).

In other metro cities, the real estate Hyderabad has recorded highest fall with 42%, followed by Bengaluru 26%, Kolkata 23%, Pune 19%, Chennai 18%, Mumbai 17% and Thane 10%.

CEO and founder, PropEquity Samir Jasuja said, “The demand for real estate continues to be robust as even in this quarter the absorption/sales is higher than the new launches and such marginal drops in this quarter is a historic trend and not symptomatic of any adverse situation.”

Developers, however, assert that ready-to-move-in or nearly completed projects are experiencing better sales than other types. Rajendra Sharma, Chairman and MD of Ambit Realtors and Developers, suggests that this year's festive season may be less vibrant compared to last year's.

While real estate experts and developers report no significant decline in sales, many developers are actively offering "buy now, pay later" festive promotions, also known as flexi payment schemes, to attract homebuyers. This plan allows potential buyers to make initial payments of just 10% or 20%, with the remainder due upon possession.

In some cases, developers in the Mumbai market even permit homebuyers to move into their apartments after paying 20% of the purchase price, with the remaining 80% paid in equal installments starting from the possession date.