67% of home buyers feel GST impacted their buying decision, reveals Magicbricks Consumer Poll

• Prices of under construction properties rise due to GST
• Consumers are now searching for more ready-to-move-in properties compared to under construction

Noida, October 05, 2018: The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Indian real estate has significantly impacted the home buyer with 67% saying that the new tax policy in the last one-year has affected their buying decision as more and more consumers are now searching for ready-to-move-in over under-construction properties, revealed a Magicbricks Consumer Poll.

 Responding to a consumer poll by Magicbricks, India’s No.1 property site, consumers were clear that tax cuts influence buying decisions. Currently, a buyer does not pay any GST charge while buying a ready-to-move-in property, while for under-construction properties one has to pay effective tax of 12%. On a house worth Rs.50 lakh, GST charges would amount to Rs.6 lakh. This tax has made many choose    ready-to-move-in units as compared to under-construction properties, previously considered a cheaper option.

Even for Affordable Housing, to buy an under-construction property with Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) benefits, the effective GST is 8%. So, a Rs.50 lakh affordable home with CLSS benefits will attract a GST of Rs.4 lakh.

The impact of GST also had its impact on consumer search trends as Magicbricks data shows that in the Jan-Jun 2018 quarter, about 80 per cent people searched for ready-to-move-in properties as compared to just about 20 per cent searching for under-construction units.

Commenting on the trend, E Jayashree Kurup, Editor, Magicbricks said: “Today the consumer is an end-user, looking for a place to stay in. Any rebate that can lower house prices is lapped up by consumers. With a waiver of GST on completed houses, the government has created a difference between the price of ready-to-move-in and under-construction categories. Being the largest spend in most lifecycles, real estate savings are always received well by consumers. The Magicbricks data backs this consumer demand to lower prices of homes for self-use.”

Over and above the property value and GST, consumers also have to pay stamp duty and registration charges, which are outside the ambit of GST now, as these are state levies. Property tax, on the other hand, is a municipal levy. Developers have been campaigning for lower GST rates for the housing sector to boost sales.

When GST rates were announced, the initial rates for real estate were 12 per cent and 18 per cent. These have since been revised to 8 per cent for Affordable Housing and 12 per cent for other segments of housing.

GST has been the biggest reform for the Indian economy since 1947, as also a game changer for the real estate sector. It was rolled out in 2017. GST replaced numerous central taxes such as excise duty, countervailing duty and service tax as well as state taxes such as value-added tax, octroi and entry tax, local body tax, luxury tax, etc.

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)