Auspicious day, but homebuyers stay away

Poor property sales and no project launches marked the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya, which was on Friday. HT reports.

Poor property sales and no project launches marked the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya, which was on Friday. Real estate experts attribute people’s lack of interest to the prevailing exorbitant rates.

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Hindus consider Akshay Tritiya a propitious day to begin an activity as anything that is undertaken on this day is said to bring success. People tend to invest in gold and property on this day, and this tradition has prompted builders to launch new projects on Akshay Tritiya.

“Currently, there is a lot of resistance towards the prices,” said Pranab Datta, vice-chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India Limited, a real estate consultancy firm. “People are waiting for prices to come down.”

Sunil Mantri, president of Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry said the sales were moderate on Friday. “It was not outstanding as it has been in the previous years,” he said. “The sales have decreased as we have increased the rates of the flats.”

The property market is facing crises on two counts — one, builders have raised prices to unaffordable levels, and two, banks have tightened lending norms and made loans costlier for homebuyers. Sales in the city have dropped to a two-year low.