CHENNAI: In an indication of a slump in real estate sector, the registration department has seen a decline in transaction of properties for the fourth consecutive year.
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The registration department has seen 25 lakh documents registered during the last fiscal, which is 29% less than the transactions reported four years ago.
The declining trend seems to be the norm for the past few years, unlike in 2011-12 when sub-registrar offices across the state recorded many more footfalls which saw about 35 lakh documents registered and a revenue of 6,620 crore generated.
For every sale, gift and exchange of property, government collects 7% on the market value of the property as stamp duty and 1% as registration fee. One per cent of stamp duty has to be paid for simple mortgage and partition among family members, while it is 4% on the market value of the property for partition among non-family members.
"The discrepancies that exist between the guideline value (the value fixed by the government for each survey number, against which the stamp duty and registration fee are raised) and market value hamper the deals and government is working on it (removing the anomalies)," a senior registration department official said in the context of lower economic growth.
The guideline value in respect of all areas - 3.97 crore survey numbers and 1.84 lakh streets in the state - was last revised in 2012, after a valuation committee and its sub-panels arrived at the figures under Indian Stamp Act.
For instance, promoters point out that the guideline value of an acre in select pockets of Old Mahabalipuram Road is 11 crore, while the market value stands at 7 crore.
"Most of the large-scale developers liquidate the holdings now to sustain the cash flow for the projects," former president of CREDAI Tamil Nadu, N Nandakumar said. .
Save budget houses, the sector does not see promising developments. CREDAI vice president V Gowthaman hoped the state removes anomalies in guideline value.
Commercial taxes and registration minister K C Veeramani told the assembly on Tuesday that government was taking adequate measures to regulate prices to reflect the market value of properties.