By Aditya Raghunath
Investing.com -- The Union Budget today extended the time limit for available deduction benefits by one year to March 31, 2022. The tax benefit of Rs 1.5 lakh will be available for affordable houses for one more year now.
This news will add further momentum to realty stocks that have been staging a smart recovery after the pandemic disrupted their plans. Affordable home sales were a major reason why real estate sales boomed in Q3 FY 2021.
The last three months have seen sales in the MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) jump to record levels. November registrations saw an increase of 67% registrations compared to 2019. December 2020 saw MMR record its highest ever sale at 19,220 flats according to property consultants Knight Frank. January 2021 saw property registrations surge 69% from January 2020.
Real estate stocks have responded positively to this move. Indiabulls (NS:INBF) Real Estate Ltd (NS:INRL) is up 5.17%, Oberoi Realty Ltd (NS:OEBO) is up 0.5%, Prestige Estates Projects Ltd (NS:PREG) is up 2.8%, Godrej Properties Ltd (NS:GODR) is up 1.94% and Sobha Developers Ltd. (NS:SOBH)is up 0.45%.
This announcement could also mean that Home First Finance India Co Ltd (BO:HOME) that recently launched its IPO could make a good debut in the stock market. The only IPO that made its debut in 2021, Indian Railway Finance Corp (NS:INID), is trading at Rs 25.15, down Rs 0.85 from its subscription band of Rs 26.