The residential real estate market, being impacted hard by lockdowns and travel restrictions in April and May, recovered quickly once the restrictions were lifted. While overall sales in major markets fell in the April-June quarter, the total offtake increased significantly in 2020. The housing market is on the mend, led by two prominent markets Mumbai and Bengaluru that were hard hit during the second wave of Covid-19. According to the most recent Knight Frank data, property registration in the largest market, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) reached a decadal high in July. With 9,037 registrations, July saw the highest number of registrations since 2011. Residential unit sales in Mumbai increased 1% in the April-June quarter over the previous quarter, according to property consultant JLL. Quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), new product launches increased by 33%. It jumped by 47% in Bengaluru. Property registrations in Mumbai have risen steadily since May, according to Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India. In April-June, home sales in Delhi-NCR fell by 55% QoQ. Concerns have also been raised about the plan of the Uttar Pradesh government to increase circle rates by up to 40% in the Noida-Greater Noida region and along the Yamuna Expressway. It has also proposed a 5-12.5% surcharge on properties near the e-way or along the Metro route. The real estate market in the National Capital Region has only recently begun to recover. Overall sales in the top seven markets fell by 23% QoQ but increased by 83% year over year (YoY). Total sales increased 18% YoY to 45,218 units in the first half (H1) of 2021, compared to the first wave in 2020, as the market proved more resilient to the second wave. Despite the increase, the 2021 figures fell short of the pre-Covid levels. In comparison to H1 of 2019, the latest figures are 42% lower and are on par with H2 of 2017. In the first half of 2021, new launches increased by 71% year over year. Image Source Also read: Real estate sector records PE investments of over $2.9 bn in H1 2021 Also read: Commercial real estate picking momentum in top cities