The Mumbai property market is on a tear, with over 10,000 registrations in February.

Property registrations in Mumbai, the country’s largest real estate market, continued to show strong momentum in February, outpacing pre-pandemic levels by a wide margin.

This is also the first time in the city’s history that more than 10,000 apartments have been registered each month since the stamp duty reduction benefit expired last year. In terms of revenue to the state exchequer, February was the best ever, with over Rs 561 crore in stamp duty collection.

According to data from the Inspector General of Registration, Maharashtra, the country’s commercial capital saw the registration of over 10,026 residential deals in February. This registration figure is up 23% from January, which was a 10-year high.

February 2020, just prior to the outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic in India, saw the registration of 5,927 residential deals, and the performance this month has outperformed the pre-covid level by more than 70%.

“Mumbai, in addition to being the country’s largest real estate market, is now one of the highest growth markets.” This growth is being driven by a number of factors, such as a progressive budget, the access of the lowest home loan rates, and a beneficial homebuying environment. “We expect this upward trend will continue in the following months and hope that the government needs to continue to be appreciative,” said Boman Irani, President of realtors’ body CREDAI-MCHI.

For nearly 6 quarters, record-low interest rates, incentives, and stable pricing have prompted a robust response from homebuyers, and now the fear of a price increase due to cost-push or an upward revision in government rates is also pushing the sales velocity.

“We are already seeing powerful traction in sales activity across categories and micro-markets, and also a strong conversion of inquiries into deals.” Positive sentiment, blended with low interest rates and secure pricing, is going to translate into business momentum. With all of these favourable factors in place, most homebuyers have noticed that now is the best time to buy,” says Vikas Chaturverdi, CEO of Xanadu Group, which handles sales and marketing for several developers across their portfolios. “Both Mumbai’s westernmost suburbs are leading in sales activity.”

According to Irani, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMRrecent )’s sustained growth is extremely encouraging for over 250 ancillary industries and job creation in general.

With the central bank maintaining its low policy interest rate stance and developers providing appealing offers, the sales trajectory has been on the rise, with monthly sales exceeding even pre-pandemic levels seen in 2018 and 2019.

Since the state government announced a reduction in stamp duty rates in 2020 to kickstart the realty sector and other industries linked to it, the Mumbai property market has been buzzing with activity.

The reduced stamp duty had resulted in an increase in the number of transactions across all market segments, including luxury, mid-income, and affordable housing. While the lower stamp duty benefit window period expired in 2020, the property markets in Maharashtra’s key cities remain active.