Residential sales attain 4-year high across top 8 cities in Jan-Mar

Despite the inconvenience caused by the third wave of the Covid 19 pandemic, residential property sales in the country's top eight cities hit a four-year high in January-March.

According to Knight Frank India research, quarterly sales reached a high of 78,627 residential units in the first quarter of the new year, up 9% from the previous quarter, while average capital prices of residential properties rose 1 to 7% in all leading regions as demand remained strong.

New property launches totalled 78,171 units throughout these areas, indicating that supply maintained up with demand. During the quarter, Mumbai had the highest volume of sales, with 21,548 units sold, and Delhi-NCR had the biggest year-over-year gain in new home sales, with a 123% increase.

For the third straight quarter, sales were substantially above the pre-pandemic average quarterly volume, indicating a sustained rebound in demand across the country.

During the quarter, all cities saw an increase in per sq ft costs year-over-year (YoY). Bengaluru had the highest year-on-year price growth, at 7%, followed by Pune and Mumbai, at 5% and 4%, respectively.

While financial stress remains a significant problem for developers across markets, Baijal believes that solid and sustained homebuyer activity would pave the path for incremental price rises, allowing them to weather the rising costs of critical inputs such as cement and steel.

The sub-Rs 50 lakh category saw the most sales, accounting for 41% of total sales in the quarter. However, it is worth noting that the upper category, defined as sales of Rs 1 crore or more, witnessed a gain in sales share in this quarter. This segment accounted for 25% of total sales, up from 18% a year before.

The sale momentum in the country's commercial capital was also hampered in the first quarter due to uncurtaining surrounding Omicron, but sales picked up in the second as consumers rushed to close deals before the April 1 implementation of a 1% metro cess and an upward revision in the Ready Reckoner (RR) rates, which will raise the cost of property acquisition in the city.

In the first quarter, new product launches had similar volumes to sales. Launches increased by 3% in the third quarter, with 78,171 new units being added. The only two markets that saw a decrease in launches year over year were Mumbai (-24%) and Pune (- 49%). The NCR market had a significant increase of 692%, while the Kolkata market saw a 141% YoY increase in new units launched, aided by the robust sales volumes that the region has been generating.

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