Residential sales boom in Mumbai

Home sales in Mumbai, India’s financial capital, jumped to the highest in four years as property developers switched focus to building cheaper apartments, according to Anarock Property Consultants. Sales in Mumbai rose 22% in 2019 even though a persistent credit crunch & economic slowdown curtailed recovery in India’s housing sales across top seven cities. Macrotech Developers, a Trump Tower developer in Mumbai, to Godrej Properties Ltd., controlled by billionaire Adi Godrej’s family, are building more low-cost homes as the credit squeeze crimps demand for posh properties. New home starts rose 21% across seven of India’s biggest cities led by affordable flats, highlighting pent up demand in the segment. “One of the major factors that helped Mumbai become the showstopper in 2019 was the developers’ conscious decision to bridge the demand-supply gap,” said Anarock’s Chairman Anuj Puri. “The region saw maximum supply in the affordable category –- something unusual for this market.” But overall housing sales growth slowed to 5%, according to data from Anarock. India’s property market was just recovering from back-to-back blows in the past few years, including a cash ban, new regulation and tax structure, when it faced yet another challenge in the form of a severe credit crunch as its key lenders -- non-bank financiers -- started collapsing.