December 30: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has stopped publication of survey on real estate or housing price due to the lack of credible data. The central bank had started the survey since last year with a plan to release the report in every three months. The main reason behind the central bank’s move is the lack of credibility of the real estate price obtained from the survey.    
Executive Director of Economic Research Department of NRB, Prakash Kumar Shrestha, said that the survey could not be continued as the statistics received were not trustworthy.    
“For the survey, we made basis for transaction that happened in the land revenue offices, price determined in the banks for collateral purpose and the price rate received independently from the market centres. There was no consistency in data against the market price in the time of recession at present,” Executive Director Shrestha argued.     
The NRB has come to a conclusion that Nepal’s real estate sector is yet to become professional and competitive due to fluctuation in the price. Dr Shrestha said that such situation could be the result of showing high price of transaction for collateral valuation but recording low price for tax purpose and showing yet another for the transactions taken place in the family members.    
The land revenue offices have been receiving transaction tax and capital gains tax in the transaction of the real estate and housing.    
The central bank had initiated the survey based on 20 different cities having more transaction of real estate or housing. -- RSS