Independent house sold for Rs 43 crore in Delhi’s Maharani Bagh

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An independent house spread across an area of 1,200 sq yards has been sold for Rs 43 crore in Delhi’s posh Maharani Bagh area, brokers aware of the deal told Moneycontrol.

The deal was registered on July 6, registration details shared by Zapkey.com showed.

The 784.39 sq m plot was sold by Savitri Devi Chowdhary (through attorney Vinita Bajoria, Anjali Daphtary and Vivek Daphtary) to the buyer, Narnoli Apparels Pvt Ltd (through Amit Kumar Garg).

A query sent to Garg remained unanswered.

The deal was facilitated by Savills India, a leading International Real Estate Consulting firm. On being asked, Shveta Jain, managing director - Residential Services, Savills India, declined to comment.

Brokers said the deal was in the works for several months but the mismatch between market rate and circle rate posed a challenge. However, the 20 percent circle rate rebate enabled the deal to go through.

To cite an example, if the circle rate is Rs 6.5 lakh per sq yard, the market price in the area was around Rs 5 lakh per sq yard due to which the area was completely devoid of deals for a long time, they said.

Several deals were closed in posh areas of Delhi in the range of Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore just before the state government decided to withdraw the rebate of 20 percent on the circle rate of land and immovable property on June 30, 2022.

In fact, as many as 9-10 deals were brokered in the last six months in the Friends Colony and Maharani Bagh areas due to the discount on the circle rates, as the gap between the circle rates and market rates is starker in these markets, said Rohit Chopra of Southdelhiprime.com.

According to registration data shared by Zapkey.com, on June 29, 2022, three properties located on a single plot were sold in Friends Colony East. One was spread across an area of 457.57 sq m, the second on an area of 557.1 sq m and the third spread across an area of 644.86 sq m. Chopra said that the valuation of these three properties owned by one family was around Rs 80-100 crore.

Three properties owned by a single buyer were also sold to three different entities in Maharani Bagh on June 28, 2022. The first was spread across an area of 536 sq m, the second 267 sq m and the third 536 sq m. A broker said that these were sold for around Rs 80-90 crore.

According to property transaction data shared by Savills India, a property in Maharani Bagh spread across an area of 760 sq yard was transacted for Rs 37 crore in June 2022. In Friends Colony East, a property on a 330 sq yards plot was sold for Rs 17.5 crore. Another 500 sq yard plot property in New Friends Colony was sold for Rs 18 crore.

The Delhi government on June 30 decided to withdraw the 20 percent rebate on the circle rate of land and immovable property for another six months, making property transactions expensive from July 1 onwards.

A government order said that the “Competent Authority has decided to discontinue the relaxation of 20% in circle rates beyond 30.6. 2022”.

Circle rates as notified under the 2014 notification shall be applicable from July 1, 2022, it said.

The Delhi government on December 31, 2021, extended the 20 percent rebate on circle rate for land and immovable property till June 30, 2022. In September 2021, it was extended up to December 31, 2021. The extension of 20 percent relaxation in circle rate was to help Delhi's COVID-hit real estate sector.

"The circle rate is the minimum price at which the sale or transfer of a residential or commercial property can be registered before being sold or transferred. The latest decision by the government to withdraw the pre-existing circle rates is expected to increase the cost of property transactions, including GST, stamp duty, and registration fees in the national capital region that was slowly gaining momentum post-pandemic,” said Shveta Jain, MD, Residential Services, Savills India.

“The circle rate rebate provided the much-needed breather for homeowners in Grade A micro-markets where the transactional activity had been sluggish due to a mismatch in the circle and market rates. Property transactions in affluent micro-markets such as Jorbagh, Shanti Niketan, and Sundar Nagar have been either of surplus assets or joint family homes, or instances where the owners wished to downsize and relocate to gated communities seeking improved infrastructure. We would have seen continuity in the market activity if the rebate had not been withdrawn,” she added.