India's housing sales hit record high in Q2

In the second quarter of this month, India's housing sales hit an unprecedented record high, defeating challenges such as soaring home loan rates and global economic uncertainties, such as layoffs. Approximately 115,100 units were sold in the second quarter across India's top seven cities, according to the latest data from ANAROCK Research. This represents a significant 36% increase compared with about 84,940 units sold in the year-earlier period. The top seven cities, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR and Pune accounted for more than 51% of the total sales, with Pune experiencing the highest yearly jump of 65%. The combined sales in those cities totaled 58,770 units. New property launches across the top seven cities have crossed the one lakh mark once again, with a 25 percent increase compared to the previous year. In Q2 2023, the number of units launched rose to 102,610 from 82,150 in Q2 2022. The MMR and Pune industries led the way in terms of supply, accounting for 63% of the total launches in these cities. Both cities saw a yearly increase in new supply, with MMR experiencing a 31% increase and Pune experiencing a 29% increase. The housing market is not yet ready for the impact of the mortgage rate hike and the worldwide economic downturns. It remains to be on a roll, with the momentum remaining strong even in the second quarter of 2023, said Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Group. Pune and MMR were the only two cities to see a quarter increase in housing sales, 4% and 10% respectively, while other cities were experiencing some dip. But on a yearly basis, most top 7 cities saw significant jump in housing sales, he said. The total number of new launches across the top seven cities rose significantly in the second quarter, a 25 percent increase from the previous year. MMR, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru were among the major contributors to the new supply, which together accounted for 84% of the new supply. MMR saw a 31% increase in new launches, with approximately 43,390 units introduced in Q2 2023. More than 61% of the new supply fell within the budget segment of Rs. 80 lakh. Pune added 21350 units in the first quarter, marking a 29% rise over the same period last year when 16.560 units were launched. Hyderabad's new supply fell to 10,470 units in the second quarter, a 51% drop compared to the same period last year. More than 43% of new supply in the second quarter belonged to high-ticket price segment, which is worth more than 1.5 lakh rupees. Bengaluru reported an increase of about 11,440 units in the quarter, experiencing a slight annual decline of 9%. In the quarter, Chennai experienced a substantial yearly increase in new launches, with approximately 5,040 units added in the quarter. In the second quarter, Kolkata experienced a 22% increase in new supply, with a total of 1,460 units launched in the second quarter. The new supply fell within the category of mid-segment, which is worth around 40 lakh and 80 lakh rupees. In Q2, the average residential property prices across the top seven cities were up 6 - 10 percent in Q2 compared to last year. The increase in construction raw material cost and overall demand is a result of the increase in construction raw material costs. Hyderabad recorded the highest annual increase of 10%, reaching Rs 4,980 per square foot by the end of Q2, 2023. Despite the robust sales, the available inventory in the top seven cities decreased by 2% on a yearly basis, resulting in an approximately 6.14 lakh units by the end of Q2 2023. The NCR's stock market experienced the highest annual decline of 21% in inventory, with the number of units decreasing from over 1.41 lakh at the end of Q2 2022 to nearly 1.11 lakh by the end of Q2 2023. This reduction is particularly significant for this real estate hotspot.