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In a trend attributed to the coronavirus outbreak, new residential property sales have plunged 42 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in the first quarter of 2020 in seven cities. From 78,510 units a year ago, they fell to 45,200 units. Similarly, new launches tumbled 42 per cent YoY to 41,200 units (70,480 units).
Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, said: “Given the ongoing global healthcare calamity, it’s no surprise that housing sales and new project launches across India’s top seven cities decreased, both on a yearly and quarterly basis. As expected, monthly data trends reveal that March — the month when most advisories and lock-downs were imposed — saw a steep decline in both new launches and housing sales against the preceding two months.”
“The government has taken an inarguably necessary hardline stance to curtail the spread of the virus. The lock-downs have stalled construction activity and will lead to project delays in the future, but this is a reality the sector must accept and live with,” he added.
Trimming inventory
Perhaps the only silver lining is that developers were able to shed nearly 3 per cent of their unsold inventory over the year — from 6.65 lakh units in Q1 2019 to over 6.44 lakh units in Q1 2020. On a quarterly basis, the decline was just 1 per cent.
Anarock’s data reveal that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw the launch of about 10,480 units (a decline of nearly 25 per cent from Q4 2019). Over 69 per cent of the new supply was in the sub ₹80-lakh budget segment. In Q1 2019, new launches stood at 26,850 units, a yearly decline of 61 per cent.
Bengaluru added about 8,600 units in Q1 2020, a quarterly decrease of 18 per cent. Over 87 per cent of the new supply was in the sub-₹80 lakh price bracket. The city’s yearly decline stood at 5 per cent.
Pune added about 7,790 new units in Q1 2020, compared to 9,550 units in Q4 2019, a drop of 19 per cent. The new supply a year go was about 17,520 units, a decline of 56 per cent YoY.
NCR added about 6,190 new units in Q1 2020, a quarterly decrease of 22 per cent. About 64 per cent of the new supply in this quarter was in the affordable segment. Last year, the new supply was 8,030 units in the same period.
Hyderabad saw new launches drop by 11 per cent over the previous quarter, with about 3,380 units launched in Q1 2020. The yearly decline was 30 per cent .
Chennai added about 3,680 units in Q1 2020, a quarterly increase of 8 per cent over the previous quarter. Interestingly, on a yearly basis, it saw a rise of 16 per cent.
Kolkata added only 1,100 units in Q1 2020, a significant decrease of 59 per cent over Q4 2019. About 52 per cent of the new supply was in the affordable segment. However, on yearly basis, new launches increased by 8 per cent.
Housing sales
According to Anarock, around 45,200 units were sold in Q1 2020 – a significant decline of 42 per cent YoY, and of 24 per cent over the preceding quarter. NCR, MMR, Bengaluru and Pune together accounted for 84 per cent of the sales in the first quarter.
Kolkata recorded a significant drop in sales this quarter as compared to the other top cities. City sales decreased by 25 per cent — from 3,260 units in Q4 2019 to 2,440 units in Q1 2020 — a significant drop of 39 per cent in a year.
MMR and NCR also recorded a significant decrease in sales this quarter vis-à-vis the other top cities. Sales in both regions decreased by 24 per cent each over the previous quarter, clocking in at approximately 8,150 and 13,910 units, respectively. As compared to the previous year, housing sales in MMR reduced by 42 per cent and by 41 per cent in NCR.
Sales in Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad decreased by 23 per cent each over the previous quarter, with approximately 8,630 units, 7,200 units, and 2,680 units, respectively. On a yearly basis, the decline in the three major IT hubs stood at 45 per cent, 42 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.
Chennai saw sales of approximately 2,190 units — a decline of 21 per cent over Q4 2019 — and by 36 per cent annually (since Q1 2019).
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