9% jump in buys, reports Anarock
As anticipated, the real estate market across the top 7 cities in Q3 2018 stayed subdued. The quarter saw a meagre 3% increase in the overall fresh housing supply as against the preceding quarter.
These new launches were largely dominated by the lower-budget segment (< Rs. 40 lakh) with nearly 42% of the total new supply, said the report by ANAROCK Property Consultants.
It said 33% launches were in the mid segment (Rs. 40-80 lakh) and the remaining 25% in the luxury and ultra-luxury segments.
The third quarter of the year is usually a lull period due to the 15-day shraddh period, which is considered inauspicious for buying property.
Consequently, builders keep new projects on hold for the ensuing festive season beginning early October.
In terms of purchases, there was a slight increase of 9% during the Q3 as compared to Q2 2018 across the top 7 cities of India. This indicates that even though home buyers’ sentiments are positive, many continue to wait and watch.
ANAROCK’s ‘Real Estate Consumer Outlook Survey’ confirms that nearly 61% prospective buyers are looking to buy their property within the next one year. Given this, the festive season may bring a boost to the real estate sector this year.
“Q3 2018 saw only a minimal increase in both new launches and absorption over the previous quarter,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman – Anarock Property Consultants.
“However, there has been a 51% jump in new housing supply against Q3 2017. Purchases also rose by 15% this quarter as against Q3 2017. Buyers and developers alike are pinning their hopes on the ongoing festive season for better deals and faster deal velocity respectively.
“Lower-budget range housing continues to keep the momentum going. This segment saw a nearly 65% increase in supply in Q3 2018 as against the same period last year,” he said.
The top 7 cities (NCR, MMR, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata and Hyderabad) saw 52,150 new units launched in Q3 2018. This is a notable increase over the 50,600 units in Q2 2018. The cities contributing most to new unit additions in Q3 2018 include MMR, Pune, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Together, these three cities accounted for 76% of the new supply.
Pricing Trends
Residential property rates across the top cities remained stagnant in Q3 2018 compared to the previous quarter, according to the report.
Kolkata was an exception with property rates down by around 1%. The considerable unsold stock in the market is keeping the ticket sizes range-bound.
Lower-budget and mid segment housing continued to dominate, with 75% of unit launches (39,300 units) costing under Rs.80 Lakh. The lower-budget segment comprised of a whopping 42% share of the total new launches.
Despite the ongoing pain in Indian real estate, both housing sales and new launches have increased q-o-q. The future depends on a favourable macroeconomic environment in 2019. fiinews.com
