New supply across top 7 cities up by 27 per cent QoQ – from 55,600 units in Q4 2018 to 70,490 units this quarter; defies conventional election period trendsPune and MMR see maximum quarterly rise in both housing sales and new supply; absorption in Pune rose by 24 per cent, in MMR by 19 per centBengaluru frontrunner in shedding unsold stock; sees 9 per cent decline in Q1 2019 over previous quarter and a 27 per cent yearly fallNew affordable housing supply sees over 47 per cent QoQ jump – from 20,800 units in Q4 2018 to 30,750 units this quarterAnnual housing sales rise 58 per cent, new launches up by 91 per cent across the top 7 citiesDefying previous election year trends when sales and new launches remained muted during this period, Q1 2019 saw both housing sales and new supply rise due to multiple Government sops in the first three months of 2019. Anarock Property Consultants' data shows that housing sales rose by 12 per cent and new residential supply by 27 per cent QoQ due to sops in the interim budget, GST rate cuts and lowering of home loan rates post RBI’s recent repo rate cut.Of the total new supply, affordable housing saw the maximum share at 44 per cent. However, overall unsold inventory across the top cities saw a meagre 1 per cent declinein Q1 2019 over the previous quarter. Unsold housing stock stands at 6.65 lakh units as of Q1 2019. Pune and MMR were the top performers with new housing supply increasing by 160 per cent and 62 per cent respectively. Housing sales in these two leading Western region cities saw a maximum increase in the quarter by 24 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.“While we anticipated a negative spill-over impact of the NBFC crisis in the first quarter of 2019, housing sales and new supply assumed an upward trajectory, says Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultants. The sector is currently riding on a new wave of optimism following the triple benefits it received from the Government in the first three months of 2019. These sops have not only increased homebuyers’ sentiments but will also boost the confidence of builders and long-term investors.”“Despite a 1 per cent hike in stamp duty and registration charges in Maharashtra, MMR and Pune markets performed significantly well as far as new launches and housing sales are concerned, says Puri. With project approvals in place, builders in these regions had been waiting for an opportune time to launch their projects, and the prevailing upbeat buyer sentiments was a major kickstart.”Q1 2019 new launch overviewThe top 7 cities recorded new unit launches of around 70,490 units in Q1 2019 (as opposed to 55,600 units in Q4 2018) – a quarterly increase of 27 per centKey cities contributing to Q1 2019 new unit launches included Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru and NCR, together accounting for 87 per centof new supplyApprox. 17,520 units were launched in Pune – a whopping rise of over 160 per cent from Q4 2019. More than 45 per cent of new supply was added in the affordable segmentMMR added approx. 26,850 units in Q1 2019 – a significant quarterly increase of 62 per cent over the previous quarter. More than 70 per cent new supply was added in sub INR 80 lakh price bracket.Hyderabad added fresh supply of 4,850 units in Q1 2019 (compared to 3,940 units in Q4 2018), increasing by 23 per centBengaluru added 9,070 units in Q1 2019 – a quarterly decrease of 22 per cent. Approx. 64 per cent new supply was added in sub INR 80 lakh price bracket.NCR new launches recorded a drop of 9 per cent from the previous quarter with approx. 8,030 units launched in Q1 2019Chennai added 3,170 units in Q1 2019 – a decrease of 19 per cent over the previous quarterIn Kolkata, new launches recorded a massive drop of 75 per cent from the previous quarter, with approx. 1,000 units launched in Q1 2019. The city saw the least new supply in the quarter among the top 7 cities.City-wise New Supply (in units) and Q-o-Q percentage change Cities Name Q1 2019 Q4 2018  per centChange (Q4 2018 vs Q1 2019) Q1 2018  per centChange (Q1 2018 vs Q1 2019)NCR8,0308,800-9 per cent4,54077 per centMMR26,85016,59062 per cent9,490183 per centBengaluru9,07011,610-22 per cent7,32024 per centPune17,5206,730160 per cent2,750538 per centHyderabad4,8503,94023 per cent3,68032 per centChennai3,1703,900-19 per cent2,72017 per centKolkata10004,030-75 per cent6,470-85 per centTotal70,49055,60027 per cent36,97091 per centSource: ANAROCK ResearchThe ripple effect of the NBFC crisis Q4 2018, coupled with the usually slow pre-election sentiment, could have played spoilsport for both new launches and housing sales in Q1 2019. However, the Government's various interventions have had not only a buffering but a boosting effect. Working closely with the RBI, it has been successful in curtailing the liquidity crisis in the sector.On a yearly basis, new launches across the top 7 cities together saw a 91 per cent jump in Q1 2019 against the corresponding period in 2018. Similarly, housing salessaw a yearly increase of over 58 per cent in the top cities – led by MMR, Pune and NCR with an increase of over 95 per cent, 80 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.Q1 2019 overall sales overviewAround 78,520 units were sold in Q1 2019 with NCR, MMR, Bengaluru and Pune together accounting for 84 per cent of the sales.Pune recorded the highest jump in sales in this quarter as compared to other top cities. City sales increased by 24 per cent – from 9,940 units in Q4 2018 to 12,340 units in Q1 2019 due to a significant increase of 160 per cent in new launch supply.MMR came in second with a significant jump in sales in Q1 2019 as compared to the other top cities. City sales increased by 19 per cent – from 20,220 units in Q4 2018 to 24,010 units in Q1 2019.Sales in NCR and Hyderabad increased by 8 per cent each over the previous quarter with 13,740 units and 5,400 units respectively.Sales in Bengaluru and Chennai increased by 5 per cent and 4 per cent respectively over the previous quarter and were recorded at 15,580 units and 3,430 unitsrespectivelyKolkata sales rose by 4 per cent – from 3,860 units in Q4 2018 to 4,020 units in Q1 2019.City-wise Absorption (In Units) and Q-o-Q percentage change Cities Name Q1 2019 Q4 2018  per cent Change (Q4 2018 vs Q1 2019) Q1 2018  per cent Change (Q1 2018 vs Q1 2019)NCR13,74012,7308 per cent9,07051 per centMMR24,01020,22019 per cent12,30095 per centBengaluru15,58014,8205 per cent11,69033 per centPune12,3409,94024 per cent6,85080 per centHyderabad5,4004,9908 per cent4,05033 per centChennai3,4303,2904 per cent2,42042 per centKolkata4,0203,8604 per cent3,42018 per centTotal78,52069,85012 per cent49,80058 per centSource: ANAROCK ResearchDespite the increase in launches and overall absorption in the top 7 cities during Q1 2019 over the previous quarter, overall unsold inventory decreased by a meagre 1 per cent – from 6.73 lakh units in Q4 2018 to 6.65 lakh units by Q1 2019. The yearly decline was over 7 per cent – from 7.13 lakh units in Q1 2018 to 6.65 lakh units in Q1 2019.Bengaluru witnessed the highest reduction in unsold inventory by 27 per cent from Q1 2018 to Q1 2019.Pricing trendsAverage residential prices across the top cities remained stagnant in Q1 2019 when compared to the previous quarter – except in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, where the average property prices increased by 1 per cent each over the previous quarter and by 2 per cent in a year. All in all, the realty sector looks all geared up in 2019. The slash in GST rates to 5 per cent for premium homes and 1 per cent for affordable homes without ITC gives the beleaguered realty sector the much-needed breathing room and will certainly help in maintaining forward momentum over the next three quarters of 2019.Also, the booster shot given by the Government by changing the budget-specific definition of affordable housing and extending it to