Housing prices in Mumbai declined by 5 per cent on a year-on-year basis in 2017, the biggest in a decade, claimed a report published by real estate consulting firm Knight Frank India.

According to Samantak Das, chief economist and national director at Knight Frank, this 5 per cent drop in prices effectively translates to a total cost benefit of 11 per cent to 12 per cent for home buyers in Mumbai.

“Apart from the base price reduction, which developers have been forced to undertake in order to prioritise offloading inventory level, a bouquet of incentives such as waivers, free of charge floor rise and assured rental schemes, which are available a dime a dozen in the market lends significantly to the price advantage,” said Das.

For instance, a stamp duty charge waiver, a standard discount now, amounts to an additional 5 per cent cost benefit.

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Unsold inventory levels had peaked in 2014 at 0.72 million units. According to the report, unsold stock declined across the country. In Mumbai, unsold inventory declined 25 per cent to 1,15,964 units. In the NCR, it dropped 11 per cent to 1,66,831 units. Across markets, level of unsold inventory dropped by 19 per cent to 5, 52,996 units.

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