A severe cash crunch seems to have brought to a virtual standstill dealings in Bombay's property market. Builders and developers have been forced either to shut down temporarily or endure long periods of enforced inactivity.
In November and December last year, not one transaction above 7.5 million rupees (about HK$1.42 million) was recorded at ritzy Nariman Point in South Bombay, heart of the city's business district.
In Cuffe Parade, the other segment of the metro city's central business district, a solitary deal was recorded at Maker Tower H, where opticians Lawrence and Mayo bought property at 21,000 rupees per square foot, or 38 million rupees for 1,800 sq ft.
In other parts of the city, deals also are on the wane. Only 29 transactions were recorded last month, against a monthly average of 40 deals in the previous five months. Only two exceeded 100 million rupees.
The lack of movement may indicate that the supply of money in the market has dried up.
'People and companies just do not have the money to buy; and if the market drops by another 5 per cent to 10 per cent, we might see a freefall,' said property agent Indravadan Desai.