Monday, February 23, 2009

Bangalore Real Estate prices - finally dropping

Finally some good news if you are in the home buying market! After a few months of stagnation the real estate market has started seeing activity. In the past few years with the economy booming, Apartment prices in Bangalore had reached the stratosphere. Now as a fallout of the global recession and ease in demand - prices are returning slowly down to earth.

Things are looking up for a new home buyer because of the following reasons.
  • Builders like DLF, Shobha have slashed their prices by approx. 30% in select locations of Bangalore. This will have a cascading effect and may see all around price reduction. Buyers in the market for a 2BHK can now consider buying a 3BHK apartment.

  • Government has cut the stamp duty to 6% from 8.48%. This will result in a saving of upto 80,000Rs on a 50 Lakh house.

  • Home loan rates are also sliding down and the market is expecting further rate cuts. Most Public Sector Banks are providing home loan rates in the vicinity of 9.00% for a 20 Lakh loan.

  • Prices of construction materials have decreased in the last one year.
    Cement price has reduced by 7%
    Brick price has reduced by 20%
    Gravel price has reduced by 20%
    Sand price has reduced by 27%
    Glass price has reduced by 12.5%
    Plywood has reduced by 10%

Now the question on every one's mind is will the rates go down further, or has it reached the bottom. However, it is time to pack a water bottle, wear a cap and go visit the Apartments and start looking for a good deal.

It is the Buyer's market in real estate now !

On a lighter note, this somehow reminds us the starting line of this 1971 Coca-cola TV commercial: "I'd like to buy the world a home, and furnish it with love... " :)






Sources : Times of India, Indian Express, BBMP website.

Disclaimer : While Apartment Adda makes every effort to provide up-to-date factual information, readers are encouraged to take decision based on further market information catering to their specific requirements.

Monday, February 9, 2009

The BBMP Property Tax Calculator is live!

As the SAS (Self Assessment Scheme) Property Tax in Bangalore can be payed from tomorrow (February 10), the Property Tax calculator of BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) is available for use from today.

The URL for the calculator is: http://164.100.80.124/rescal/

We just calculated the property tax for our zone, and found it very intuitive and simple to use. Thanks to BBMP for this effective tool!

Here is a nice article by Citizen Matters that gives a step by step guide for using the calculator:
http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/786-bangalore-property-tax


And if you are interested in the logic behind the calculator, check this article (logic at the end of the article):
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/bengaluru/pay-property-tax-under-sas-feb.-10-354

For all other questions on Property Tax in Bangalore, please refer to this useful handbook published on the BBMP site: http://www.bmponline.org/propertytax/Hand%20Book.shtml
Especially useful is the Frequently Asked Questions on Bangalore Property Tax, which is part of this handbook.