Pune Property Ready reckoner rates zoom northwards

The Maharashtra state’s RR rate for Koregaon Park is Rs 10,212 per sq ft for a house or flat — the highest in the city. Though the current market rate is much higher, the RR rate has recorded an increase of Rs 1,712 over last year’s rate. Areas such as Koregaon Park, Shivajinagar and Kalyaninagar attracted maximum ready reckoner rates for housing, other areas that closely follow are Shivajinagar (Rs 9,520) and Kalyaninagar (Rs 8,550), where high-valued deals of residential properties were registered in the 2012 calendar year. The earlier rates in Shivajinagar and Kalyaninagar were Rs 7,930 per sq ft and Rs 7,125 per sq ft respectively.
    “RR rates are revised based on the number of deals and their value reported at the property registration office and information gathered by the officials about real estate. It gives the department an idea about the current trend in the real estate market,” said S Chockalingam, Inspector General of Registration (IGR) and Controller of Stamps of the state.
    The IGR office has increased RR rates in most areas in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits by about 20%. However, the steepest rise in the rates is in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation limits, as more and more residential projects are coming up in those areas.
    A senior officer from the IGR office said that in the PMC limits, most under-construction residential complexes fall under the redevelopment category — where projects are coming up on plots where residential property previously existed. Very few vacant plots are being developed. As a result, the rates in these areas, which are driving development, are higher than the fringe areas, the officer said.
    The RR rates in Bibvewadi, Kothrud, Sadashiv Peth, Baner, Gultekadi and Dhankawadi have gone up by Rs 1,000 per sq ft as these areas are witnessing high-valued transactions compared to areas such as Narayan Peth, Hadapsar, Mundhwa, Warje and Wanowrie.
    Property rates in Pimple Nilakh, Bhosari and Pimple Gurav are so high that the government has increased the RR rates by 35% to 70% for the current year. The state government wants RR rates to be close to the market rates, which would generate more revenue in the form of stamp duty. Stamp duty is charged on the amount quoted in the deal documents. At present, stamp duty is 5% for urban areas and 4% for rural areas.
    Ready reckoner rates are government approved rates used during valuation of property, legal disputes over real estate and compensation after acquisition.
    The IGR office has increased ready reckoner rates every year for the last two decades. The general tendency of customer is to show lower than the actual amount on paper while buying a flat or property. As stamp duty is charged only on the quoted amount, the government loses revenue and black money is generated. To curb such practices, the government regularly gathers data of ongoing rates of properties in various areas across the state and updates the ready reckoner rate. It is mandatory for buyers and sellers to get the deal registered with the government and file stamp duty accordingly. If a buyer shows an amount lower than ready reckoner rates, he/she has to pay stamp duty as per the ready reckoner rates. The exercise is to reduce the gap with market rates to maximise government revenue.