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» Freebies fail to lure home buyers

Date: Oct 24, 2008

Author: Economics Times

Home buyers appear to be waiting for a ‘crash’ in realty prices. Offers such as, waiver of stamp duty and registration charges, free lifestyle home or modular kitchen and free parking, have failed to boost home sales.

Unless developers are willing to reduce prices by at least 25-40% to affordable levels, home buyers are likely to stay away. This was the message emanating from a four-day property exhibition organised by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) at the Bandra-Kurla complex despite the huge response.

“We are highly encouraged by the overwhelming response to the exhibition. The attendance of quality home seekers on all four days and their interest in the property shows the rising demand for housing in Mumbai and the state,” said Pravin Doshi, president of MCHI.

However, it does not seem that the response was matched by conversions. Although 800 properties by 85 real estate developers were put up for sale and 15 housing finance companies were also on hand to provide funding, it is estimated that the conversion rate was below 10%. It must be kept in mind that such exhibitions are not really the point of sales for something personal like a home.