New home launches outpace sales, reversing post-pandemic trend: Anarock

New home launches in India have started outpacing sales, reversing the post-pandemic pattern when sales were usually higher, according to Anarock Group chairman Anuj Puri.

This has pushed up unsold inventory by 7% year-on-year, taking the total stock across the top 7 cities now above 6 lakh units, Puri said.

According to the real estate consultancy, the ongoing West Asia war has had a predictable impact on the Indian real estate market. Housing sales in the first three months of the calendar year 2026 fell 7% quarter-on-quarter across the top 7 cities against, according to data released by Anarock Research. However, given the low housing sales base in the corresponding period last year, Q1 2026 marked a 7% annual rise in sales across the top 7 cities.

Around 101,675 units worth Rs 1.51 lakh crore were sold in Q1 2026 in the top cities, in contrast to approximately 108,970 units worth Rs 1.60 lakh crore in Q4 2025, the data show.

“While India’s residential segment’s long-term fundamentals remain strong, the short-term tremors of the Iran War were clearly visible in the first quarter,” said Puri. “The 7% dip in sales tracks the war-induced uncertainty, with sentiment and sales clearly affected by surging oil and construction prices, particularly in March,” Puri added.

A large numbers of prospective homebuyers from West Asia, who invest significantly in Indian real estate, have hit the pause button under the war cloud, Puri stated.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Bengaluru saw the maximum new supply in Q1 2026, accounting for 51% of the total new launches across the top 7 cities. While MMR saw new supply increase by 6% on a quarterly basis, Bengaluru saw a 7% jump in the period. Chennai, NCR, Kolkata and Pune saw a quarterly decline in new supply—by 28%, 17%, 10%, and 9%, respectively.

The top 7 cities recorded around 1,26,265 new units launched in Q1 2026, against 1,23,835 units in Q4 2025 and 1,00,020 units in Q1 2025, increasing by 2% and 26%, respectively. The key cities contributing to new launches in Q1 2026 were MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region), Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and NCR (National Capital Region) which together accounted for 92% of the quarter's supply addition.