High registration costs keep flat buyers at bay
Parvez Ahmed, a senior official at a state-owned bank, bought a 1,200 square feet flat for Tk 1 crore in the capital's Mohammadpur area.
He took staff loan of Tk 80 lakh and managed the remaining Tk 20 lakh himself to purchase the flat.
It has been six months now and he is yet to register the flat in his name as he will have to foot another Tk 16 lakh for it.
The registration cost of 16 to 17 percent of flat value is too high for buyers, said Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, first vice-president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB).
“In fact, the high registration cost is a major factor hindering flat sales,” he said, adding that the registration costs are the same for brand new and second-hand flats.
On the other hand, many disputes are arising between buyers and sellers due to not registering the property on time, he said, adding that the government is losing out on revenue for the buyers' reluctance in registering the property.
Builders have long been demanding cuts in the registration cost to make the housing market more vibrant.
REHAB in its pre-budget proposal for fiscal 2018-19 demanded a slash in registration cost to 7 percent from existing 14 to 16 percent.
The registration cost includes: 4 percent gain tax, 3 percent stamp fee, 2 percent registration fee, 2 percent local government tax and 3 percent VAT.
REHAB proposed the government bring down the gain tax to 2 percent, stamp fee to 1.5 percent, registration fee to 1 percent, local government tax to 1 percent, VAT to 1.5 percent. Flat registration cost is higher in Bangladesh in comparison to the Saarc countries, REHAB said in its proposal.
It is 4 to 7 percent in Saarc countries while in other developed countries the cost is less than that, according to Bhuiyan.
He went on to call for a secondary housing market along the lines of used car market, where the registration cost would be less.
The high bank interest rate is another reason for the slump in flat sales, said Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal), president of REHAB. “People simply don't want to buy flat with high-cost loan.”
Flat sales got a much-needed boost in the last two years due to the availability of low-cost funds, he added.
Since February, the interest rate for home loans soared to 12.5 percent from 8.5 to 9 percent a year earlier.
At present, a total of 11,000 flats are unsold, down from 14,000 unsold flats a year ago, according to REHAB.
About 10,000 ready-to-sell residential apartments could not be either sold or transferred to their buyers because of the non-availability of gas connection.
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