HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh’s wife has bought an apartment worth Rs 50 crore in Mumbai, the latest high-value residential deal in India’s financial capital.
The property in the name of his wife Smita D Parekh was registered on April 9, 2021, registration data accessed by Zapkey.com showed. Stamp duty of Rs 1.5 crore was paid on the property on March 30, 2021. This was at the rate of 3 percent, according to the registration documents.
A spokesperson for HDFC, which finances the purchase or construction of residential houses, commercial real estate, among other related transactions, confirmed the deal. "There was an independent valuation done by two valuers to ascertain the value of the property so as to confirm that the purchase was at market value,” the spokesperson told Moneycontrol.
The spokesperson said details of the transaction were shared with the HDFC board to seek their prior approval before committing to buy the property.
The property— located in Worli and housed in Artesia, a project launched by K Raheja Corp—is on the 25th floor and has six parking slots. It offers views of the Arabian Sea and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.
The luxury apartment has a carpet area of 6,770 sq ft and a balcony area of 273 sq ft, registration documents shared by Zapkey.com said.
The deal is the latest in a series of real estate transactions that have occurred in Mumbai. In order to boost the stagnant real-estate market hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government on August 26, 2020, decided to temporarily reduce stamp duty on housing units from 5 percent to 2 percent until December 31, 2020. Stamp duty from January 1, 2021, until March 31, 2021, was 3 percent.
On March 31, 2021, the Maharashtra government decided not to extend the stamp duty waiver on property registrations and kept the Ready Reckoner Rates (or circle rates—the minimum designated price per sq ft for land or property at which transactions have to be registered) unchanged for the financial year 2021-22. Regular rates of 5 percent are applicable from April 1 onwards.
During the pandemic, several businessmen, bankers, and owners of listed companies bought high-value luxury properties, indicating that stock market money may be finding its way back into real estate.
In December 2020, HDFC vice-chairman and CEO Keki Mistry, bought an ultra-luxury apartment in Mumbai in the same project worth Rs 41.23 crore. The residential deal in India’s financial capital took place as homebuyers scrambled to register properties before the deadline of the 3 percent stamp duty cut expired on December 31, 2020.
The same month, former HDFC Bank boss Aditya Puri’s family purchased a Rs 50 crore property in Mumbai. The unit, located in Lodha Seamont on Malabar Hill, near Raj Bhawan in Walkeshwar, is on the 19th floor and came with seven car parking spaces.
Raheja Artesia has 55 floors. The monthly rent for an apartment of the size bought by Mistry is around Rs 14 lakh per month, local brokers said.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
