Tech layoffs weigh on India’s real estate market as housing sales fall 6% in Q2

Housing sales in India fell 6.1% year-on-year as buyer caution, pre-monsoon seasonality and technology-sector layoffs weighed on demand in key markets, according to PropTiger’s latest Real Insight Residential report.

A total of 91,729 homes were sold across the country’s top eight cities in Q2, down from 97,674 units a year earlier and 4.4% from the preceding quarter. New launches, however, rose 6% year-on-year to 89,161 units, meaning sales continued to outpace fresh supply.

The sequential slowdown was partly linked to buyer caution amid the US-Iran conflict, with the impact particularly visible in technology-led markets such as Bengaluru, Pune and Hyderabad. AI-led workforce restructuring and tech-sector layoffs affected sentiment, especially among buyers looking for homes priced below ₹1 crore, the report said.

Pune recorded the steepest annual sales decline among the major markets, with sales falling 20.8% to 12,642 units. Ahmedabad followed with a 20.2% decline to 7,541 units. Bengaluru sales fell 9.2% to 14,186 units, while Delhi-NCR and MMR each recorded a 7% annual decline.

The picture was more positive in Hyderabad and Chennai. Hyderabad sales rose 14.6% year-on-year to 13,196 units, while Chennai posted the strongest annual growth among the eight markets, with sales jumping 36% to 7,183 units. Kolkata recorded a 22% sequential increase, the strongest quarter-on-quarter recovery nationally, although its sales remained 8.6% below Q2 2025.

Despite the softer volumes, prices continued to rise. The sales-weighted average price across the eight cities increased 1% sequentially to ₹10,153 per square foot, marking the second consecutive quarter above ₹10,000.

Bengaluru recorded the strongest annual price appreciation, with prices rising 26% to ₹9,931 per square foot despite weaker sales. MMR remained the largest market by volume and value, with 24,112 homes sold at an average ₹15,422 per square foot, up 20.4% year-on-year. Pune crossed ₹8,000 per square foot for the first time, rising 13.7% annually to ₹8,084.

Ahmedabad remained the most affordable of the top eight markets at ₹5,295 per square foot, while also recording the strongest sequential price increase of 7%.

“Prices have held above ₹10,000 per square foot for two straight quarters even as buyers turn more selective. Kolkata and Chennai are showing genuine demand-led recovery, while Bengaluru and Pune continue to command pricing power despite tech-sector caution,” said Prakash Tejwani, CEO, PropTiger. “Disciplined supply positions developers well for the festive quarter, though affordability remains the key variable to watch,” Tejwani added.

Reductions in GST on cement, marble and granite have been translated into an estimated 2–3% buffer in construction costs, although the report said this has been absorbed into project economics rather than resulting in lower residential prices.

Looking ahead, PropTiger expects the festive quarter to provide an important test of underlying housing demand. Q3 could benefit from festive-season buying, further recovery in Kolkata and normalisation of supply in Chennai, while infrastructure projects such as Bengaluru Metro Phase 3, the Pune Line 3 extension and Chennai Phase 2 could support demand.

The key risk remains affordability. With annual price gains ranging from 4.4% in Chennai to 26% in Bengaluru, continued appreciation could stretch the budgets of middle-income buyers even if overall housing demand remains resilient.