Housing sales stabilise in top Indian cities, festive quarter to see uptick in demand

Mumbai, Sep 26: After a two-year bull run, residential real estate activity across top cities stabilised in the third quarter (July-September) this year, reaching more than 1.07 lakh units, a report showed on Thursday, adding that the lull was due to monsoon and perceived inauspiciousness (the ‘shraad’ period).

However, sales continued to outstrip new supply in Q3, reflecting continued health in the market. Share of new luxury homes supply (priced Rs 1.5 crore and above) was highest at 33 percent in the quarter, as per the Anarock Group report.

“Housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season. As always in this period, the ‘shraad’ period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians deferred home buying in this period. Overall, the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in Q1 2024,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group.

Developers have several projects lined up during the festive quarter during which the market is expected to see an uptick in demand.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw the highest sales of nearly 36,190 units in Q3, followed by Pune with 19,050 units.

“Cumulatively, the two western cities accounted for 52 percent of the total sales across the top 7 cities in Q3 2024. All the top cities individually recorded a dip in housing sales,” Puri said.

The top seven cities saw new housing supply with about 93,750 units launched in Q3, against 1,16,220 units in the corresponding period in 2023.

“Nevertheless, the fact that sales remained higher than launches indicates that the demand-supply equation remains robust,” Puri noted.

The mid-segment (Rs 40 lakh-Rs 80 lakh) contributed a 23 percent share of the total new supply during the quarter, while the affordable segment's share fell further to just 13 percent – the lowest in a quarter.

The inventory decline is largely attributable to sales exceeding new launches in the quarter, the report mentioned.

Average residential prices in the top seven cities collectively saw double-digit growth of 23 percent against Q3 2023. Hyderabad recorded the highest 32 percent annual growth, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR with 29 percent increases each.