In a recently released bi-annual report, renowned real estate consultant Knight Frank India has shed light on the current state of India’s top eight realty markets. The report indicates that housing sales across these cities experienced a minor decline of 1% during the January-June period, dropping to 156,640 units from 158,705 units in the same period last year. In contrast, the gross leasing of office space in these major cities rose by 3%, reaching 26.1 million square feet compared to 25.3 million square feet in the previous year.
Notably, housing prices in the region saw a year-on-year increase ranging from 2% to 10%.
CMD of Knight Frank India, Shishir Baijal, commented on the findings, highlighting that both the housing and office markets have shown resilience in the first half of the year despite challenges like rising interest rates on home loans and global economic headwinds.
Discussing the housing market, Baijal pointed out that there has been a consistently positive consumer sentiment, with sales remaining above 1.5 lakh units throughout the six-month period. He emphasized that there has been a rise in the sale of luxury homes, indicating a shift in buyer preferences. Demand in the housing sector has been primarily driven by the mid and premium segments, with affordable housing sales witnessing a decrease in market share.
Delving into city-specific data, Mumbai experienced an 8% decline in housing sales, amounting to 40,798 units in the first half of the year compared to 44,200 units in the previous year. However, the gross office space leasing in Mumbai recorded a significant 9% increase, reaching 3.2 million square feet.
In Delhi-NCR, housing sales saw a modest 3% increase, rising to 30,114 units from 29,101 units. The office space leasing market in the region displayed robust growth, witnessing a remarkable 24% rise to 5.1 million square feet from 4.1 million square feet.
Bengaluru, on the other hand, experienced a 2% dip in housing sales, with 26,247 units sold compared to 26,677 units in the previous year. Concurrently, office leasing in Bengaluru decreased by 10%, falling to 7 million square feet from 7.7 million square feet.
Pune saw a slight 1% drop in housing sales, amounting to 21,670 units from 21,797 units, while office space leasing experienced a more substantial decline of 30%, reaching 2.3 million square feet from 3.3 million square feet.
Chennai witnessed a 3% increase in housing sales, with 7,150 units sold compared to 6,951 units in the previous year. In an interesting contrast, office space leasing in Chennai surged significantly, more than doubling to 4.5 million square feet from 2.2 million square feet.
In Hyderabad, housing sales experienced a 5% growth, totaling 15,355 units compared to 14,693 units in the previous year. However, office space leasing in the city declined by 8% to 2.9 million square feet from 3.2 million square feet.
Kolkata’s housing sales rose by 3%, reaching 7,324 units from 7,090 units, but office space demand fell by 3%, amounting to 0.6 million square feet.
Finally, Ahmedabad witnessed a 3% decrease in housing sales, with 7,982 units sold in the January-June period this year compared to 8,197 units in the previous year.