Five out of eight top cities reported a fall in home sales in the March quarter, with the highest drop, witnessed in National Capital Region (NCR), despite the launch of new projects and sluggish property prices, revealed to a report by Liases Foras Real Estate Rating and Research Pvt. Ltd.
In the January-March period, NCR sales fell by 9 percent, followed by Pune (8 percent) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (7 percent). According to the report nearly 73,716 housing units were launched during the quarter, 43 percent higher than the preceding December quarter.
Further, the highest numbers of projects were launched in Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
As compared to the last year’s data, India’s largest property market and the declining sales continue to remain as a matter of concern. Sales in the industry fell by 21 percent in 2018-19, as compared to the year before.
“Sales were on an upward curve last year but the NBFC liquidity crisis and confusion over GST (Goods and Services Tax) put a brake on sales in the March quarter. The key takeaway is that there is an underlying pent up demand for homes, but that needs to now translate into actual sales. We expect launches to continue along with price and other incentives from developers to attract buyers to boost cash flows. However, the downward pressure on prices will continue for some time given that the unsold inventory levels are still high,” said Pankaj Kapoor, Managing Director, Liases Foras Real Estate Rating and Research.
The report further revealed that the growth in sales is only witnessed in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad by 33 percent, 13 percent and 4 percent, respectively.
