Housing sales beat COVID-19 blues, up 29% in top 7 cities in Q1

India's housing sector sales in the top seven cities jumped by 29% in Q1 of the calendar year 2021, spurred by stamp duty reduction in some states, developer discounts, and a dip in home loan rates, ANAROCK's Q1 2021 data shows.

The figure has breached the pre-Covid levels, with as many as 58,290 houses being sold in the top seven cities in Q1 as against 45,200 units in Q1 2020, the property consultant says in its report.

The new launches were also up by 51% YoY (year-on-year) in the first quarter of 2021, at 62,130 in Q1 2021, against 41,220 units in Q1 2020. Bengaluru, Mumbai Metropolitan Area (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), and Pune together constituted 83% of the sales in the quarter.

Also Read: Developers become richer by 26% despite COVID-triggered plunge: Hurun

Where MMR sales jumped by 46% annually, business in Pune increased by 47%. With about 8,670 homes sold, Bengaluru was the only city in the top seven to not log a major yearly change in total sales figures this quarter. Data further showed that MMR and Pune accounted for 53% of total sales in major cities.

"As many as 58,290 homes were sold in the top 7 cities in Q1 2021 in comparison to 45,200 units in Q1 2020 - effectively breaching pre-COVID levels. Mumbai and Pune together accounted for 53% of housing sales in the quarter - MMR sales increasing by 46% annually, and Pune by 47%. With approx. 8,670 units sold, Bengaluru was the only city in the top 7 to not record a major yearly change in total sales numbers in dis quarter," Anarock said in a statement.

Meanwhile, average property rates in the top seven cities witnessed peripheral movement with most registering an increase of 1-2% over Q1 2020, except Kolkata, where prices remained sluggish.

Bengaluru and NCR saw property rates jump by 2% during the year. In a significant positive sign for the realty sector, data revealed that despite soaring new launches over the past two quarters, unsold inventory in the top seven cities witnessed a nominal yearly fall, from 6.44 lakh units by Q1 2021-end as compared to 6.42 lakh units last year. However, on a q-o-q basis, the unsold stock rose by 1% due to a robust healthy new launch pipeline in most cities, the report noted.

"Demand boosters like stamp duty cuts, further reductions in home loan rates by most banks (to 6.70%), and ongoing developer discounts and offers helped the residential sector stage a convincing comeback in Q1 2021. Egged on by buoyant sales and enthusiastic consumer sentiment in the October-December period, developers launched several new projects in this quarter - with some spill-over from the pandemic-dampened 2020 pipeline," said, Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultant.

Also Read: Housing market in 2020: Home sales drop 47% in top 7 cities; new launches fall 46%

In terms of new launches, Hyderabad registered a massive spike of 270% in new supply from the previous year, with approx. 12,620 units launched in Q1 2021. Pune and MMR witnessed a 77% and 41% annual jump, respectively.

Q1 2021 Overall Sales Overview

o Hyderabad recorded the maximum rise in sales this quarter among the top cities.

o MMR and Pune also saw significantly boosted sales in this quarter when compared to other top cities. Sales in MMR and Pune increased by 46% and 47% respectively and stood at approx. 20,350 and 10,550 units, respectively.

o In Chennai, approx. 2,850 units were sold - an increase of 30% over Q1 2020

o In Kolkata and NCR, housing sales increased by 10% and 8% respectively over Q1 2020, with approx. 2,680 units, and 8,790 units, respectively

o In Bengaluru, approx. 8,670 units were sold as compared to 8,630 units sold in Q1 2020.