NEW DELHI: CRISIL Research estimates overall primary sales to witness a decline of 40-50% in top 10 cities in 2020. This trend was visible before the pandemic struck and is estimated to continue over the second half, said Crisil.New home sales have seen a surprise surge in the last couple of months, making the pandemic-led disruption look like a mere blip. Units sold in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra are 1.1 - 1.3 times higher compared with January this year, said Crisil.The spurt rides on supportive measures from governments of key states. Maharashtra, for instance, has reduced stamp duty from 5% to 2% up to December 2020 and to 3% for January-March 2021. Karnataka , too, has reduced stamp duty from 5% to 3% for properties priced between Rs 21 lakh and Rs 35 lakh.A favourable, buyer-centric market has created an opportunity for first-time homebuyers and fence-sitters as well as resale flat buyers.

Source: Economic Times November 19, 2020 13:35 UTC