Unsold residential inventory in India is at its lowest in eight quarters (since 2020) at 6,27,280 units in the January–March period of this year.
Analysts and market sources say that, altogether, there has been a 3 per cent decline in unsold stock across the top seven cities from Q1 2020 till Q1 2022, from 6,44,420 units to 6,27,280.
Unsold stock is spread across the mid segment – ₹40 lakh-₹80 lakh and premium homes – ₹80 lakh-₹15 crore – and some in the affordable housing segment. The affordable/budget segment’s share in sales remained stable at 27 per cent in Q1 2022 vis-à-vis Q4 2021 while sales in the high-end category jumped to 23 per cent in Q1 2022 versus 16 per cent in Q4 2022.
Unsold inventory of real estate properties in the National Capital Region (NCR) declined by 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2022, as compared to the same period of 2020. As against this, southern cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai saw their collective unsold stock rise 32 per cent.
In Mumbai and Pune, the cumulative unsold stock came down by 10 per cent.
Analysts peg the upbeat performance in the region to “returning consumer confidence, prompted by the fact that several leading and listed players have amplified their supply pipeline”.
Interestingly, the new supply in the seven major cities – Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune - collectively saw a 116 per cent jump, from 41,220 units in Q1 2020 to nearly 89,150 units in Q1 2022.
“Sales remained robust during the pandemic period and was all-time best in Q1 2022 which has helped the unsold inventory decline despite the increased new supply,” Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK, told BusinessLine.
Mumbai, Hyderabad dominate launches
In terms of new supply in the January–March period of 2022, Mumbai and Hyderabad dominated in the luxury segment priced within ₹1.5 crore and ₹2.5 crore.
As per ANAROCK Research, of the total new launches of 8,960 units in this segment in Q1 2022, Mumbai and Hyderabad comprised 50 per cent and 27 per cent share respectively.
In terms of the ultra-luxury segment priced at ₹2.5 crore, the top 7 cities saw total new supply of nearly 4,370 units of which Mumbai comprised 32 per cent share while the NCR comprised 31 per cent share. Hyderabad followed with nearly 23 per cent share.
According to Angshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, cities in the western part of the country continued to drive sales and unit launches. Pune led housing sales in Q1 2022 with a 27 per cent share, followed by Delhi-NCR (21 per cent), Mumbai (20 per cent) and Bengaluru (14 per cent).
According to him, trends suggest need for larger unit sizes; growing focus on plotted developments (as buyers prefer flexibility on configuration and ancillary amenities).
“As end-user takes precedence over speculative investment and buyers become more informed, developer reputation, execution capabilities and financial position will play a bigger role in home purchase decisions,” Magazine added.