Hasit Dani (Asian Paints) buys Rs 95-crore duplex

MUMBAI: Hasit Dani, a member of the Asian Paints promoter family, has bought a duplex apartment on a project being built on the site of a former Hindustan Unilever guesthouse, Alhambra, on Carmichael Road, South Mumbai, for Rs 95 crores. The 6,374 square-foot luxury apartment deal was recorded last week and valued at more than 1.49 lakh rupees per square foot, it is one of the most expensive real estate transactions in the country. Danny bought the apartment from Hydra Trading, another company in the Asian Paints developer group. In 2016, HUL sold the Alhambra, a one-story house built by the Sultan of Darbanga, for approximately 170 crore rupees. The property was home to three former chief executives of the company: Manvinder Banga, Doug Baillie, and Nitin Paranjpe. The identity of the buyer was not mentioned at the time. Danny bought the apartment with his wife, Chopalaxmi. They paid a stamp duty of Rs 1.90 crore for the transaction posted on December 30th. As part of the deal, they will also have access to four parking spaces. According to the documents submitted to the civil authorities, Hydra Trading is developing a luxury 10-story residential project. The project will contain four luxury apartments on the top five floors, including Danny Duplex that will occupy the eighth and ninth floors. The first five floors will be for parking. Asian Paints did not respond to inquiries. Many high-value transactions are being completed and recorded in the luxury segment of the country's most expensive real estate market, Mumbai, due to lower prices and lower stamp duty benefits. The deals are helping to further expand the luxury sector, which has been slow for nearly half a decade. In an effort to revive the real estate sector by encouraging restaurant sales, the Maharashtra state government announced a reduction of the stamp tax to 2% from 5% in September to the end of December. Stamp duty will be charged at 3% of the agreement value from January to the end of March. The stamp duty reduction not only helped increase pent-up demand in the more affordable and middle-income segments, it also resulted in the completion of many high-value transactions in the city. While record data indicated increased traction in suburban home sales, these luxury deals in South Central and South Mumbai are also pushing the nation's most expensive housing market to new heights. Also Read: Trends for Home Decor in 2021