Revenue collection from land registration has exceeded the target by 27. 57 percent to Rs 5.35 billion in the last fiscal year in a clear reflection of recovery in the sector, according to the Department of Land Reform and Management. The target was Rs 4.19 billion.

The government had missed the target in the fiscal years 2011-12 and 2010-11 when recession was deepening. Both the government officials and realty traders have reported smooth growth in realty transactions lately.

Kamal Prasad Timalsina, under secretary at the Department of Land Reform and Management, said land transactions both in the Valley and in Tarai have grown at the same pace.

He, however, said land transactions in Kathmandu is highly related to collaterals for banks compared to those in other regions. Realty traders said sales of low cost land and houses have gone up both in and outside the Kathmandu valley.

Min Man Shrestha, general secretary of Nepal Land Housing Developers’ Association, said the sales of land having price tag of Rs 400,000-Rs 500,000 per aana have picked up lately.  “Disbursement of bank loans to individuals constructing house or purchasing apartments have also helped the sector recover to some extent,” said Shrestha.

Another property developer Bhesh Raj Lohani, managing director of Green Hill City, shares Shrestha’s thought. “Sales of low cost houses and land have gone up in Kathmandu Valley,” he said. “Both sales and price of lands and properties have gone up in the emerging towns outside the Kathmandu Valley.”

The Kathmandu valley is still the largest contributor to the government’s revenue from the land and property registration.

In the fiscal year 2012-13, the revenue collection from the valley stood at Rs 2.09 billion against the target of Rs 1.75 billion, according to the Department of Land Reform and Management. In fact, the revenue collection from four out of five land revenue offices (LROs) in the valley has exceeded the target in the last fiscal year. LROs in Dillibazzar, Kalanki, Chabhil and Lalitpur exceeded the target except the one from Bhaktapur failed to meet the target, according to the department’s statistics.

The realty traders now claim a growing optimism in the sector going forward. Lohani expect realty transactions to peak after the Dashain and Tihar festivals, although it would take some time for the prices to go up.

“It should now recover after four years of recession. The interest rate has been decreasing and remittance has grown which will fuel transactions in the realty sector,” said Lohani. Shrestha, however, said high interest rate for home loans and even higher rate for developers is pegging back the sector’s early recovery.

But based on the current trend, the Department of Land Reforms and Management has expected the revenue collection of around Rs 6 billion this year, much better than its initial target of Rs 4.5 billion.

source:the kathmandu post,3 Sep 2013