. KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has started publishing detailed data on the trend of real estate transactions using the fiscal year 2079/80 as the base year. The data will be released on a quarterly basis from now on.

The report prepared on the basis of data collected from the Department of Land Management and Archives, Inland Revenue Department and Nepal Rastra Bank is believed to help understand the overall activities of the real estate market. The analysis has been done on the basis of the resignation transactions under the document passed.

The report covers indicators such as the number of real estate transactions, transaction value, land area, government revenue collection and bank credit flowing to the sector. The data has been analysed not only at the national level but also at the provincial, metropolitan and sub-metropolitan levels.

According to the quarterly report, there is a clear seasonal trend in real estate transactions. According to the NRB, the trend of low transactions in the first quarter and high in the third and fourth quarters is expected.

Madhes Province is at the top in terms of number of transactions, followed by Lumbini and Koshi Province. Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces have the least turnover. Madhes Province has the highest share in terms of area.

Based on the area traded in land, plots of 2.5 to 10 annas are traded in all provinces except Madhesh Province, while plots above 20 annas are traded in Madhesh Province. Bagmati Province is in the top position on the basis of declared value (pouch amount). Most of the transactions have been seen in plots with an area of 5 to 10 annas in metropolis and sub-metropolitan cities.

In the fiscal year 2077/78 to 2081/82, the real estate loan has increased by 72.41 percent and the residential loan has increased by 61.55 percent. The government revenue from the real estate sector had reached Rs 23.7 billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2078/79. After that, it decreased to Rs 8.2 billion in the first quarter of 2079/80 BS and then recovered to around Rs 15 billion in 2081/82.

It is believed that this type of data on real-estate transactions will help in assessing the activities of the real-estate sector. The bank is also preparing for the second phase of preparing and publishing the real estate price index on the basis of the above data.