KATHMANDU, Aug 22: Land transactions across the country declined 27.86 percent in the first month of the current fiscal year (FY).
The records with the Department of Land Management and Archive show that a total of 31,621 transfers of land ownership took place during one month between mid-July and mid-August this year. The figure stood at 43,835 transactions in the same period of the last FY.
Despite the flexible policy introduced by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) for promotion of realty business, the sector has shown negative response. The central bank has raised the loan ceiling for a first-time buyer of land and housing to Rs 30 million from Rs 20 million. Likewise, the loan-to-value ratio of banks’ loan on house purchase has been raised to 80 percent from 70 percent.
Along with a decline in land transactions, the government’s revenue collection from the sector has also reduced by 14 percent. In the review period, the government collected revenue of Rs 3.28 billion from realty businesses, down from Rs 7.83 billion.