Housing prices rise in 43 cities, affordability remains strong

According to the National Housing Bank (NHB), housing prices experienced an upswing in 43 cities during the first quarter of the 2023-24 fiscal year, while residential unit rates declined in seven cities. The NHB's Housing Price Index (HPI) reveals that home loan rates continue to be lower than pre-pandemic levels, contributing to overall healthy affordability.Notable property price appreciation was observed in several key primary residential markets. Ahmedabad led with a significant 9.1 per cent increase in property prices, followed closely by Bengaluru at 8.9 per cent and Kolkata at 7.8 per cent during the April-June 2023 period. Additionally, other cities displayed annual increases in the HPI, including Hyderabad (6.9 per cent), Pune (6.1 per cent), Mumbai (2.9 per cent), Chennai (1.1 per cent), and Delhi (0.8 per cent).The 50-city HPI, based on property valuation prices collected from banks and housing finance companies, reported an annual increase of 4.8 per cent in the first quarter of FY24 compared to 7 per cent the previous year. This change varied across cities, ranging from a 20.1 per cent increase in Gurugram to a 19.4 per cent decline in Ludhiana.On a sequential (quarter-on-quarter) basis, the 50-city index expanded by 0.7 per cent in April-June 2023, compared to 1.3 per cent in the preceding quarter. Since June 2021, the index has shown a consistent upward trend on a quarter-on-quarter basis. Notably, Chandigarh recorded the highest sequential increase at 4.9 per cent, while Navi Mumbai, Ludhiana, Howrah, and Bhiwadi experienced sequential declines of more than 2 per cent in the HPI during the quarter, with Navi Mumbai recording the largest decline of 5.9 per cent.On a sequential basis, the 50-city index observed a 2.3 per cent increase during the quarter, compared to 2.6 per cent in the previous quarter, indicating the dynamic nature of the real estate market across urban areas.