Realty stocks slump on stamp duty hike report in Maharashtra

Shares of real estate companies with significant exposure in Mumbai slumped in a weak market on Monday after reports surfaced that the Maharashtra government proposes to hike stamp duty for properties.

Shares of realty players like India Bulls, Oberoi and HDIL on Monday slumped as much as 6 per cent after reports that the state government is planning to hike stamp duty by as much as 160 times.

Indiabulls Real Estate slumped 4.53 per cent to a low of Rs 65.25, Oberoi Realty tanked 2.32 per cent over its previous close to Rs 250 and Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd was down by 6.64 per cent to Rs 89.15 on the BSE.

"This news is going to be negative and stock prices of realty companies who have exposure in Mumbai took a hit. The cost of property in Mumbai will move up it will worsen the situation as there are already very few takers at the present interest rate regime," Ashika Stock Brokers Research Head Paras Bothra said.

Moreover, weakness in the broader market also battered these stocks to some extent, market analysts said.  According to reports, Maharashtra government proposed to hike stamp duty on leave-licence to 0.1 per cent on market value or 1 per cent of the average annual rent or deposit paid, whichever is higher, for residential properties.

For commercial properties, the duty for lease agreements over 60 months is 0.4 per cent. This is a whopping hike from the previous fixed amount of Rs 25,000 for residential and Rs 50,000 for commercial properties for 60 months.