Shares of real estate companies including Godrej Properties, Indiabulls Real Estate and Shobha were trading weak from S&P BSE Realty Index on concerns of hike in stamp duty in Maharashtra from April 2023.
Indiabulls Real Estate, Macrotech Developers (Lodha), Godrej Properties, Prestige Estate Projects, Shobha and Mahindra Lifespace Developers were down 2 per cent to 4 per cent. at 10:14 am; The S&P BSE Realty index was the top loser among the sectoral indices, down 0.82 per cent compared to a 0.50 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
Select media reports indicate that stamp duty in Maharashtra may be raised by 1 per cent along with an increase in ready reckoner rates.
ICICI Securities said that though no confirmation has been announced on the same, the fee hike could hit demand especially with the rise in home loan rates by ~200 bps in the last one year.
The brokerage firm said in a note that it is negative on Mumbai based developers like Oberoi Realty, Sunteck, Macrotech, Godrej Properties, Keystone Developers etc.
Meanwhile, overall construction cost inflation has now come down to around 6 per cent per annum, a testimony to the fact that the impact of geo-political conditions from last year is now waning and Lodha’s management said in the Q3 earnings call. They expect this will not only help further forecast higher construction costs going forward but also help reduce inflation in the overall economy and therefore help the rate cycle peak later this year and then bottom out.
In individual stocks, Sobha fell 2 per cent to Rs 422.65 on the BSE. In the last six trading days, the real estate stock fell 23 per cent after the company announced on March 22 that a search was being conducted by the Income Tax Department at the company’s registered office and other premises.
