Realty stocks plunged up to 20 per cent in early trade today with Unitech and DLF stocks taking a major hit following the government’s measures to clamp down on black money menace.

S&P BSE Realty index was lower by nearly 11 per cent at 1,314.97 points in the first hour of trading.

In early trade, Unitech tumbled nearly 20 per cent, while DLF dropped over 13 per cent before making a slight recovery.

While Unitech was trading at Rs 4.75, DLF was down at Rs 126.

Among other scrips, Prestige Estates Projects too shed 17 per cent to Rs 153.25, Sobha Developers declined over 11 per cent to Rs 240 and Godrej Properties slumped 7 per cent to Rs 333.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex crashed nearly 1,340 points in opening trade before making up some of the lost ground but was down by more than 660 points at 26,928.70 points later.

In a major crackdown against black money, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had late on Tuesday, announced that high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 would no longer be legal tender.

While declaring a “decisive” war against black money and corruption, he also came out with a slew of steps to assure commoners that their money is safe.

New notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500, with a completely new design, would be introduced.

According to experts, demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes are likely to hit unorganised builders and secondary (resale) property market. Housing prices could witness downward pressure, helping revive demand in this segment which is seeing a sluggish trend.

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