New home launches dip 35% in 2017: Cushman & Wakefield

Housing sector witnessed 35 per cent fall in new supply during 2017 across eight major cities to about 74,000 units, but launches of low-cost homes rose by six per cent, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Launches of new homes are estimated to have fallen to 73,956 units in 2017 from 1,13,044 units last year in eight cities -- NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad. All eight cities recorded decline in new home launches in the range of 8 per cent to 52 per cent, mainly on account of implementation of real estate regulatory law RERA under which all ongoing and new projects have to be registered with the authority. "With only the affordable housing segment seeing a rise in launches in 2017, the new unit launches in residential saw a decline of 35 per cent year on year since 2016," Cushman & Wakefield said in a report. Home launches fell maximum in Ahmedabad by 52 per cent at 4,680 units during 2017, followed by Hyderabad by 51 per cent to 5,837 units, Bengaluru by 47 per cent to 9,219 units and Kolkata by 45 per cent to 7,127 units. Chennai saw a dip of 44 per cent to 3,595 units during 2017, while Pune witnessed a decline of 43 per cent to 10,730 units and Delhi-NCR by 14 per cent to 9,792 units. Home launches fell only by 8 per cent in Mumbai at 22,976 units as Maharashtra timely established the state regulator. Commenting on the report, C&W India Country Head and MD Anshul Jain said: "2017 is a precursor to the much-needed stability of the residential market as seen in the nature of launches". In the residential sector, affordable housing saw a growth of 6 per cent at 31,241 units, with Mumbai leading the trend. "Even as developers grappled with the impacts of business fundamentals like RERA and the GST over their business, the clarity brought in by government in affordable housing definition and benefits led to this growth," C&W said. Mumbai contributed the highest to affordable category, recording over 11,000 new units. Pune with the launch of 5,700 units saw second highest numbers. Luxury segment posted 70 per cent fall in launches to 331 units, while high-end by 57 per cent to 4,943 units and mid- range by 47 per cent to 37,441 units. Jain said the sector has seen an eventful year with drastic statutory changes and it will continue to realign itself to end users' demands well into 2018. "The end users' interest in the residential sector will become positive as investments will be legally protected and there would be commitment on timely delivery from developers," he added.