NRB halts survey on real estate price due to lack of credible statistics

KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has stopped the publication of surveys on real estate or housing prices. The central bank started the survey last year with a plan to release the report every three months but it came to halt due to lack of credible statistics, according to the bank. The main reason behind the central bank’s move is lack of credibility of the real estate price obtained from the survey. Executive Director of the Economic Research Department of NRB, Prakash Kumar Shrestha, said the survey could not be continued as the statistics received were not trustworthy. “For the survey, we made a basis for transactions that happened in the land revenue offices, price determined in the banks for collateral purposes and the price rate received independently from the market centres. There is no consistency in data against the market price in the time of recession at present,” Executive Director Shrestha argued. NRB has come to the conclusion that Nepal’s real estate sector is yet to become professional and competitive due to fluctuations in price. Shrestha said that such a situation could be the result of showing the high price of transaction for collateral valuation but recording a low price for tax purposes and showing yet another for the transactions taking place in the family members. The land revenue offices have been receiving transaction tax and capital gains tax in the transaction of real estate and housing. The central bank initiated the survey based on 20 different cities having more transactions of real estate or housing. READ ALSO:

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