Mumbai, Nov 2 : Home sales in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in October rose 36 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis to 7,929 units, boosted by the stamp duty cut along with the festive demand, according to a report by Knight Frank India. The 'Mumbai Residential Snapshot October 2020' said that the residential sector of Mumbai recorded the highest ever registrations in the month of October over the last eight years. Sales growth was 42 per cent on month-on-month (MoM) basis in October. It noted that one of the biggest catalysts for the growth has been the reduction of stamp duty by 300 basis points, which has been further matched by developers who have offered to absorb the remainder, thus significantly reducing the total outflow towards new home purchases. The reduction in home loan rates by banks to historic lows helped improve homebuyers' loan eligibility and also aided sales growth. Further, the developers innovated on their marketing prowess to include financial benefits, discounts and easy payment options to attract buyers during the lockdown period. As per the report, developers were also able to garner buyer interest through the active usage of digital platforms during this period to engage with customers. After the stamp duty cut, Mumbai has witnessed cumulative residential sales of 13,526 units during September-October 2020. The report said that even after the stamp duty cut in September 2020, the state government's revenue collections from stamp duty have increased in October 2020 to Rs 232.8 crore compared to Rs 176.4 crore in August 2020. This shows that the boost to housing sales has more than compensated for lower duty and hence benefitted the state government in terms of revenue collection, it added. Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India said,"The growth in sales of residential units has bounced back in MMR region supported by the stamp duty cut by the Maharashtra state government. The lowering of stamp duty has helped significantly in stimulating demand especially from the end-user consumers." As end-users are highly discerning, factors like lower home loan rates, reduction in stamp duty along with the incentives provided by the developers, have helped buyers realise greater value from their purchases, he said. "The demand momentum in this market is likely to continue buoyed by the festive demand and recovery in the economy. Those with financial stability during these times are viewing this period as the perfect opportunity to invest in properties, as entry price is attractive," Baijal said. He added that the tangibility of the asset also provides a certain assurance including its availability as collateral for future funding. /IANS