Affordable homes is now a distant reality in Delhi-NCR especially after September

Housing prices in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru appreciated 29 per cent year-on-year in the July-September quarter on strong demand, high input cost and an increase in the supply of luxury homes, according to Anarock.

Real estate consultant Anarock's data showed that the average prices of residential properties in Delhi-NCR increased 29 per cent to Rs 7,200 per square feet in the July-September quarter from Rs 5,570 per square feet in the year-ago period.

In Bengaluru, the prices grew 29 per cent to Rs 8,100 per square feet in the third quarter of this calendar year from Rs 6,275 per square feet in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Hyderabad saw the maximum 32 per cent rise in prices to Rs 7,150 from Rs 5,400 per square feet.

The average Housing prices in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) rose 24 per cent to Rs 16,300 from Rs 13,150 per square feet.

Pune witnessed a 16 per cent increase in prices to Rs 7,600 from Rs 6,550 per square feet, while Chennai saw a 16 per cent appreciation to Rs 6,680 from Rs 5,770 per square feet.

In Kolkata, the average housing prices rose 14 per cent to Rs 5,700 per square feet in July-September from Rs 5,000 per square feet during the year-ago period.

Darshan Govindaraju, Director of Bengaluru-based realty firm Vaishnavi Group, said, "The average increase in residential property prices is a continuation of a trend seen since the last few quarters and is primarily due to increase in input costs, including land acquisition and construction costs, along with the growing weightage of premium and luxury properties in the overall sales bucket".

"This is shooting up the median housing prices in Bengaluru in line with the increase in prices across other cities," he added.

Angad Bedi, CMD, BCD Group, attributed the price rise to factors like infrastructure development, robust economic activity, and a surge in demand for premium housing.

"Additionally, a limited housing supply and inflationary pressures are contributing to the price rise," he said.

Bedi also cautioned that continuous price rises could eventually affect affordability and disrupt demand patterns in the long term.

"Average residential property prices across the top 7 cities collectively rose by 23 per cent annually - from Rs 6,800 per sq ft in Q3 2023 to Rs 8,390 per sq ft in Q3 2024," Anarock had said last week.

The consultant data showed that housing sales fell 11 per cent in July-September to 1,07,060 units from 1,20,290 units in the year-ago period.

The top 7 cities witnessed a drop of 19 per cent in new housing supply, with 93,750 units launched in July-September 2024 against 1,16,220 units in the corresponding period in 2023.

"Nevertheless, the fact that sales remained higher than launches indicates that the demand-supply equation remains robust," Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said.

He pointed out that housing sales in the third quarter tapered down amid high prices and the monsoon season.

"As always in this period, the 'shraad' period also suppressed demand to an extent as many Indians defer home buying in this period." Overall, Puri said the housing market is stabilising after creating a new peak in January-March 2024.

Anarock said that developers have several projects lined up during the festive quarter (October-December) during which the market is expected to see an uptick in demand.

"That said, (sales) growth in the upcoming quarters may not be as steep as seen in the last 1-2 years," said Puri.

"Residential prices too seem to have peaked out and are now gradually stabilising across cities. Developers are likely to roll out several offers and discounts during the upcoming festive quarter to attract buyers." As per the data, the MMR recorded the highest sales among the top 7 cities in the July-September quarter at 36,190 units, a 6 per cent drop from 38,505 units in the year-ago period.

Pune saw a 17 per cent decline in sales to 19,050 units from 22,885 units during the period under review.

Housing sales in Delhi-NCR fell 2 per cent to 15,570 units from 15,865 units.

In Bengaluru, housing sales decreased 8 per cent to 15,025 units from 16,395 units.

Hyderabad recorded sales of 12,735 units, a 22 per cent fall from 16,375 units in the third quarter of the 2023 calendar year.

Housing sales in Kolkata declined 25 per cent to 3,980 units from 5,320 units.

In Chennai, housing sales fell 9 per cent to 4,510 units during July-September 2024 from 4,945 units in the year-ago period.

(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)