Mhada records decrease in number of applicants

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) lottery applications have been closed with 65,000 applications, which is less than the applications received by the authority last year. This year, Mhada’s Konkan lottery board had announced lottery for 9,018 houses. Last year, around 1.5 lakh applications were received for 4,078 houses.

The houses are located in the outskirts of Mumbai in areas like Ambernath, Thane, Mira Road, Kalyan, Virar, Bolinj, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. According to few housing experts, the current real-estate market situation might be responsible for the drop in response. “People don’t see appreciation in the property offered by the authority, in near future. Almost 50 per cent of the applicants sell off the flats once they get in the lottery, but now in the present scenario there are no buyers. This can be the reason for low response,” said Sulaiman Bhimani, a housing expert.

Meanwhile, the quality of housing stocks has also been termed responsible for disinterest among the homebuyers. According to reports, around 36 flats from the Mhada 2017 lottery has been returned by the lottery winners. “The prices of the flats are high and quality of flats are not up to the mark,” added Mr Bhimani.  

The 2018 lottery will be carried out on August 25. The date was initially set on August 19 but was later extended by the authorities. It is one of the biggest lottery announced by the housing authority. The lottery also includes houses, which are under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY).