The auction of commercial property announced late last month by the Appropriate Authority of the Income Tax Department provides investors with an inkling of just how much commercial property rates in India's business capital Mumbai are under siege.
The authority, set up in 1986 to make pre-emptive acquisitions to eliminate the heavy incidence of 'black money' in property deals, has put 40 commercial and residential properties on the block, some of them valued at more than 100 million rupees ($17.2 million) each.
But the reserve prices inked by the authority are proving a deterrent even to genuine buyers.
The auctions are expected to be held in the middle of next month. Some of the properties going under the hammer are prime offices in the heart of the central business district. Others are luxury and middle-segment homes, some worth more than 30 million rupees.
Residential properties acquired by the authority have taken a big hit over the past few years. For instance, the value of an apartment in Andheri acquired by the authority for 2.5 million rupees has eroded to 1.12 million rupees.
Some commercial properties have shown similar falls. A Raheja Centre property has plunged from 22.5 million rupees at the time of its appropriation to 10.8 million rupees.