News: Supply of high-value properties rise as big families look to sell jointly-owned homes-28-02-2022
"Covid-19 has brought a fair bit of uncertainty into people's lives. We see a keenness among families, especially the elderly, to formalise the distribution of assets to the next of kin, in their lifetime," said Amit Goyal, CEO of India Sotheby's International Realty.
Supply of high-value properties in the national capital and other metro cities is being driven by families wanting to sell jointlyowned bungalows in some of the most soughtafter residential areas, said top realtors. Most of the properties are either owned by elderly people or by several members of the younger generation. "Covid-19 has brought a fair bit of uncertainty into people's lives. We see a keenness among families, especially the elderly, to formalise the distribution of assets to the next of kin, in their lifetime," said Amit Goyal, CEO of India Sotheby's International Realty. Recently, a bungalow in New Delhi's Sunder Nagar, which was owned by six members of a family, was sold for about ₹80 crore. Actor Amitabh Bachchan also sold his Gulmohar Park property, which was originally owned by his mother.
"Most of such real estate, particularly the high-value properties priced around ₹25 crore and above, which were not on sale prior to Covid, have come onto the market now," said Goyal. "In several cases, the original owner is not alive, and the next generation prefers to sell the jointlyinherited property sooner than later and divide the sale proceeds." In the wake of the pandemic, there is a sense of urgency to avoid any legal issues that could arise if one of the joint owners passes away. "The Covid-19 pandemic has raised several queries about properties held in joint ownership. Never before, except perhaps in times of war, has the prospect of sudden, unexpected mortality of individual HNI joint owners without proper delegation of vested ownership rights become an issue which needs to be dealt with immediately," said Santhosh Kumar, vice-chairman, Anarock Group. Properties held in joint ownership can be very valuable family heirlooms or jointly acquired trophy assets in some of the most aspirational addresses in the country. The real estate markets of Mumbai and Pune have seen the positive impact of slashed stamp duty charges in Maharashtra. "There has been astonishing demand in South Delhi's premium colonies, with multiple buyers bidding for a single house. In most of the sales, the seller wants to move from joint ownership to single ownership, and that is also one of the reasons for the increase in demand," said Lalit Kaushik of Royale Realtors. "Prices in colonies like Anand Lok, Neeti Bagh or Defence Colony are now at par with Vasant Vihar due to the gap in demand and supply."
