Gold sales up 30% this Gudi Padwa; property, cars also sell

People wait for ‘auspicious’ day to spend; non-Maharashtrians splurge as well.

Maharashtrians and Kannadigas in the city snapped up gold jewellery and automobiles as both communities brought in their new year on Thursday. As a result, the sale of gold jewellery in the city was higher by 30% compared to last year.

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“Gudi Padwa is the most auspicious day for Maharashtrians to buy gold, but this time, people from other communities were also buying gold on the occasion,” said Kumar Jain, vice president, Mumbai Jewellers’ Association. “People also took advantage of the fact that gold prices dropped by Rs600 in a day to Rs29,200 for ten grams (24Karats) on Thursday,” he added.

Several Mumbaiites also brought home swanky new cars on the occasion. “I always purchase gold coins on Gudi Padwa every year, but this time I decided to buy a car for the family,” said Uday Salian, an Andheri resident, who also purchased gold jewellery on Thursday. “I had made a booking a month ago to have the car delivered on the new year,” he added.

Property sales were high as well. “A lot of people often hold back their decision to buy property till the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa. We received a good response in terms of people bookings properties across Mumbai, Pune, Thane and even in Hyderabad,” said Om Ahuja, a real estate expert. However, he refused to disclose the number of bookings, owing to his company’s policy.

The day marked a new beginning for Kannadigas as well. “Like every year, we bought one gram of gold this year too,” said Medha Jorapur, an Andheri resident.

“We usually buy property on this day because it is considered to be an auspicious day. But this year, we didn’t so because of rising real estate prices,” said Manjula Shrinivas, a resident of Mira Road.