Housing sales up 14% to 1.13L units in Jan-March 2023

Housing sales in India's top seven cities are estimated to rise 14 per cent during January-March to over 1.13 lakh units on strong demand despite increase in prices by 6-9 per cent, according to Anarock.

Real estate consultant Anarock, which tracks the primary (fresh sales) residential market, said the "bull run" continued in the housing segment of Indian realty sector despite rise in interest rates on home loans, leading to highest quarterly sales in the last one decade.

According to the data compiled by Anarock, housing sales are estimated at 1,13,770 units in January-March, up 14 per cent from 99,550 units in the year-ago period across seven major cities. Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune contributed 48 per cent to total sales.

Delhi-NCR is the only city likely to witness a decline in sales during the first quarter of this calendar year. "The residential market's winning streak continued in the first quarter of 2023 with housing sales in top cities breaching the previous high of Q1, 2022.

"The quarter has recorded the highest ever sales in the last decade amid significant rise in demand for high-ticket priced homes (more than Rs 1.5 crore)," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said. Puri, however, cautioned that emerging headwinds could pose a challenge in the short-term. "Persistent inflation concerns along with another possible rate hike by the RBI in the near future could dent the housing market's growth trajectory in the upcoming two quarters," Puri said. As per the data, housing sales in MMR are likely to rise 19 per cent to 34,690 units in January-March from 29,130 units in the corresponding period of last year. In Pune, sales are set to rise 42 per cent to 19,920 units from 14,020 units. Housing sales in Delhi-NCR, however, are seen falling by 9 per cent to 17,160 units from 18,835 units.

In Bengaluru, the sales of residential properties are estimated to rise 16 per cent to 15,660 units from 13,450 units. Sales in Hyderabad are set to rise 9 per cent to 14,280 units from 13,140 units. Chennai is likely to witness 18 per cent growth in sales to 5,880 units from 4,985 units. Sales of residential properties in Kolkata are estimated to increase by modest 3 per cent to 6,180 units in January-March quarter this year from 5,990 units in the same period last year.

Anarock data also suggest that average housing prices across the top 7 cities increased 6-9 per cent annually in January-March 2023, mainly due to increase in the prices of construction raw materials and overall rise in demand. MMR and Bengaluru recorded the highest 9 per cent annual jump.

Commenting on the data, realty firm Signature Global Chairman Pradeep Aggarwal said the housing sector is experiencing strong sales due to increased affordability over the year. "Despite the rise in home loan interest rates, there has been minimal impact on demand nationwide. We anticipate that the demand in the housing sector will continue for at least a few more years," Aggarwal said.