Housing construction peaked in 2022 buoyed by post-COVID boom

If the demonetisation in 2016 had pushed the local housing market into a downward spiral, the COVID-19 pandemic surely arrived as a blessing in disguise for the residential real estate market. After subdued activities, in terms of new launches and completion of projects for a few years, the post-COVID boom in demand for homes has helped the market scale new highs in 2022.

As per data from Anarock Research, completion of new home construction hit a new high last year. At 402,000 units, new home construction in 2022 in top seven markets was highest since demonetisation of high value currency notes impacted the real estate market in 2016. The numbers were 44 per cent higher year-on-year from 278,650 units that were completed in 2021.

The record high number of completion was backed by renewed demand for homes after the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic waned in the second half of 2021. According to Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Group, 2022 was “a watershed year for the Indian housing sector”, with sales breaching the previous peak levels of 2014. “"Construction activity was, and will hopefully remain, least impacted even if the pandemic resurfaces, so most completions in 2023 may be as per schedule. Certainly, developers are committed to completing previously launched projects before launching new ones,” he said.

Of the total completed homes in 2022, the highest were in the Mumbai Metro Region (MMR) at 1,26,720 units - nearly 80 per cent higher than in 2021, when some 70,500 units were completed. In the Delhi-NCR market, the number of completed units remained similar to 2021. Some 86,300 units were completed last year, compared to 86,590 in 2021.

As per Anarock’s estimates, in 2023 the number of new units will surge further to 544,190 units with the National Capital Region of Delhi emerging as the largest contributor (166,850 units). Followed by MMR with 132,900 units, Pune (94,280 units), Bangalore (73,470 units) and Kolkata (33,040 units).

 
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