Highest real estate transactions in Madhes

By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, Apr. 14: Madhes Province has emerged as the leading hub for real estate activity in Nepal, recording the highest number of property transactions over the past three fiscal years. 

This finding comes from a recent trend analysis based on data from the Department of Land Management Archives (DOLMA), Inland Revenue Department, and Nepal Rastra Bank made public on Monday.

Nepal Rastra Bank has started publishing statistics on real-estate trends using the fiscal year 2022/23 as the base year.

DOLMA records real estate transactions under various categories. This analysis is based on rajinama transactions, a category that reflects voluntary transfer or relinquishment of property rights and commonly used to capture property buy/sell activities. 

According to the report, transactions are generally lower in the first quarter of each fiscal year likely due to monsoon-related factors. 

Such trend tend to rise in the third and fourth quarters. The highest transaction volume was recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024/25 with 0.456 million of total number of transactions. This indicates rebound in the real-estate sector from the recent slowdown.

Based on total area of land transacted, Madhes Province recorded the largest share, followed by Koshi and Lumbini, while Karnali and Gandaki had the lowest. 

By land size category, all provinces except Madhes recorded the highest proportion of transactions in the 2.5-10 aana range. 

In Madhes Province, however, the most transactions fell under the category of more than 20 aana, indicating preference for large plot size primarily for agriculture or industrial purposes. 

Based on Thaili (amount/declared value), Bagmati recorded the highest peaking at Rs. 51.37 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024/25. 

Similarly, Karnali Province registered the lowest, while other provinces remained close to national average. In metropolitan and sub metropolitan areas, mid sized land plots (5 to 10 aana) accounted for the highest number of rajinama transactions. 

While very small plots (less than 2.5 aana) and very large plots (more than 20 aana) recorded relatively fewer transactions. 

According to the report, between fiscal year 2020/21 and 2024/25, real estate loans grew by 72.41 per cent and residential loans by 61.55 per cent, reflecting strong and sustained demand. Residential loans remained relatively stable, while real estate loans experienced short-term moderation before recovering quickly.

The government revenue from real estate peaked at Rs. 23.7 billion in the first quarter of FY 2021/22, declined to a low of Rs. 8.2 billion in first quarter of FY 2022/23, and has since shown a modest recovery, reaching around Rs. 10–15 billion in the FY 2024/25.

Based on the trend of total declared value, the overall value is in an increasing trend over the period of the last 12 quarters. 

The transaction amount has more than doubled rising from Rs. 58.66 billion in first quarter of 2022/23 to Rs. 127.61 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024/25. 

The average transaction volume across these twelve quarters was Rs. 86.74 billion with six quarters recording volumes above this average.