Residential sales in October-December across top 8 cities dip 15%
Residential property sales across top eight Indian cities declined 15% from a year ago to 66.1 million sq ft during the quarter ended December as homebuyers preferred to wait and watch amid uncertainty owing to demonetisation. Maximum decline was noted in Chennai, Pune and Bengaluru, while Kolkata was the only city to have recorded a 9% on-year increase in sales, showed data from Liases & Foras Real Estate Rating & Research. After an upbeat second quarter, this decline can be translated mainly as the knee-jerk reaction of demonetisation. The sudden change of affairs stoked uncertainty and fears which led the sector to opt for a wait and watch mode, said the report. “We anticipate demonetisation to have a positive impact on the real estate in the medium to long run, with maximum impact on the luxury, secondary and plots market. Coupled with this, the interest subvention promised under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna and declining interest rate will usher in positive times for the Indian realty sector. Increased inclination towards new launches in affordable category shows that developers are already proceeding in the right direction,” said Pankaj Kapoor, MD, , Liases & Foras Real Estate Rating & Research. Mid-segment with the cost range between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore garnered maximum demand with 30% sales, followed by the affordable segment with Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh at 29%. As a result of slow sales, rise in unsold stock could be seen to the tune to 9% annually during the quarter. Increase in unsold stock was led by Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Ahmedabad. However, it is to be noted that most of the increase has been factored in the first 9 months of FY 2016-17.
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