Circle rates hiked by up to 20% in Ghaziabad; buying property gets costlier

Property brokers in Ghaziabad said that buying properties has got costlier in the district with the rate hike. (Representative image: PTI)

The Ghaziabad administration has increased the circle rate across the district with effect from August 24.While the hike ranges between 6 and 20 percent, the average increase in circle rate for the financial year 2022-23 is around 10-12 per cent.  The hike comes after a gap of six years as the last time rates were hiked in 2016, according to the officials.

"The maximum hike is about 20 percent and the minimum is 6 percent. The average hike in the district is somewhere around 10-12 per cent. The hike has been more in the areas where more registries were taking place. The percentage increase in revenue due to the hike will be around 10-12 per cent," Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Vivek Kumar Srivastava told moneycontrol.

Srivastava said that the administration has received a revenue target of Rs 2835 crore for this financial year and the rates have been hiked keeping the target in mind.

The latest round of hike has made properties costliest in Kaushambi where the prices have been increased between Rs 82000 and Rs 113000 per sq metre from earlier Rs 72500-Rs 79700. In Vaishali, the new rates are in the range of Rs 77000-Rs 1,00,000 while it's in the range of Rs 91000-Rs 100000 in Indirapuram. In Vasundhra, the new price ranges from Rs 64,000 to Rs 77000 while in Kavi Nagar, the latest rate is between Rs 55200 to Rs 62400. In Gandhi Nagar, the rate ranges from Rs 50,600 to Rs 52,600.

"Now, the registry will happen as per the revised circle rate and thus the buyers will have to spend more to own a home. Be it Sahibabad, Mohan Nagar, Rajendra Nagar or Meerut Road, the earlier circle rate was Rs 21,800 and now it has gone above Rs 23000, this will definitely increase the cost," said Anuj Singh, a Ghaziabad-based property dealer.

Another property broker Ajit Rana said that the demand for commercial properties will go down due to the rate hike.

"There are many areas where the market rate is low due to less development but the circle rate is high. For example, if we talk about a commercial chamber in GDA tower, the registry is of around Rs 60 lakh while the market rate is around Rs 40 lakhs. Now, if the registry will be for Rs 70 lakh, then neither anyone will come out to buy nor anyone would be able to sell it. The market has not developed at that scale but the circle rate has been increased," said Rana.

A circle rate is a minimum rate at which a property is sold. This rate is also taken into consideration while registering properties. On the other hand, the rate at which the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) or the Uttar Pradesh Housing Board sell properties is called sector rates.

According to the officials, the district has undergone many infrastructural changes including Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS (to become operational in phases starting from 2023) and Delhi Metro that not only improved the connectivity but also resulted in urbanisation.

The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) had received around 200 objections/suggestions about the circle rate hike proposal and the new rates have been brought in only after disposing all of them, said the officials.