Only 29% of Housing Supply Qualifies for Govt. Sops in top 7 Cities

Only a paltry number of developers have built housing that meets the Government’s criteria for incentivized affordable housing in 2019. ANAROCK data reveals that of the total housing supply of 1,39,490 units in the top 7 cities H1 2019, merely 39,840 units meet these criteria. The Government's recent Budget ‘bonanza’ of an additional INR 1.5 lakh tax deduction on interest repayment of home loans availed till March 2020 will benefit very few people in urban India. To avail credit subsidy benefits along with the new Budget sops for affordable housing, a home must be priced <INR 45 lakhs and not exceed 60 sq. mt. carpet area or approx. 850 sq. ft. built-up area, including overall loading. Of the 1,39,490 units launched in H1 2019 in the top 7 cities, merely 29% of units qualify under the government-stipulated affordable category. Of the housing shortage of 19 million units in urban India, nearly 96% pertains to the EWS and LIG categories - the target of the government's affordable housing push. As per ANAROCK research, nearly 2.40 lakh units that are unsold across the top 7 cities as on Q2 2019 are in the affordable category but many of these do not comply with the government's narrow 'affordable' definition. This unsold stock has increased by nearly 3% against the corresponding period in 2018.