Housing Sales In Q1 2021 Breach Pre-COVID Levels

The housing sector in the top 7 cities staged an impressive comeback post-COVID-19. Housing sales in the top 7 cities increased by 29% says a report by Anarock

By Varun Singh

Housing sales in top 7 cities saw a surge of 29% Y-o-Y in Q1 2021, thus breaching Pre-COVID-19 levels.

The housing sector in the top 7 cities staged an impressive comeback post-COVID-19. ANAROCK’s Q1 2021 data shows that housing sales in the top 7 cities increased by 29% and new launches by 51% during this quarter against the corresponding period in 2020.

As many as 58,290 homes were sold in the top 7 cities in Q1 2021 in comparison to 45,200 units in Q1 2020 – effectively breaching pre-COVID levels. MMR and Pune together accounted for 53% of housing sales in the quarter – MMR sales increasing by 46% annually, and Pune by 47%. With approx. 8,670 units sold, Bengaluru was the only city in the top 7 to not record a major yearly change in total sales numbers in this quarter.

New launches in the top 7 cities yielded 62,130 units in Q1 2021, against 41,220 units in Q1 2020. Again, Bengaluru was the only city to see a 11% yearly drop in new launches. MMR, Pune, and Hyderabad together contributed 66% of the total new supply in the quarter.

Despite spiralling new launches in this and the previous quarter, unsold inventory in the top 7 cities saw a nominal yearly decline – from 6.44 lakh units towards Q1 2020-end to approx. 6.42 lakh units by Q1 2021-end. However, on a q-o-q basis, unsold stock rose by 1% due to a robust healthy new launch pipeline in most cities.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants says, “Demand boosters like stamp duty cuts, further reductions in home loan rates by most banks (to 6.70%) and ongoing developer discounts and offers helped the residential sector stage a convincing comeback in Q1 2021. Egged on by buoyant sales and enthusiastic consumer sentiment in the October-December period, developers launched several new projects in this quarter – with some spill-over from the pandemic-dampened 2020 pipeline.”

“MMR and Pune were the most active in this quarter since the limited-period stamp duty cuts and other sops and discounts substantially reduced acquisition cost,” says Puri. “MMR’s homebuyers have responded proactively to the bottomed-out property prices in the country’s most expensive real estate market. This is adequately vouchsafed by the significant rise in property registrations in Mumbai in the first two months of the year.”

Housing affordability will potentially remain extremely favourable throughout 2021. If the current sops and incentives continue, we will see sustained vibrancy in the upcoming quarters as well. End-users will drive maximum demand.

Mid-segment housing saw the maximum new launches in the quarter with a 43% overall share, with the affordable housing segment accounting for 30%. The supply of luxury housing (priced >INR 1.5 Cr) also rose by 31% in Q1 2021 against the corresponding period in 2020.

Q1 2021 Overall Sales Overview

Around 58,290 units were sold in Q1 2021 – a yearly increase of 29% over Q1 2020.  NCR, MMR, Bengaluru, and Pune together accounted for 83% of the sales in the quarter.

• Hyderabad recorded the maximum rise in sales in this quarter among the top cities. City sales increased by 64% – from 2,680 units in Q1 2020 to approx. 4,400 units in Q1 2021.
• MMR and Pune also saw significantly boosted sales in this quarter when compared to other top cities. Sales in MMR and Pune increased by 46% and 47% respectively and stood at approx. 20,350 and 10,550 units, respectively.
• In Chennai, approx. 2,850 units were sold – an increase of 30% over Q1 2020.
• In Kolkata and NCR, housing sales increased by 10% and 8% respectively over Q1 2020, with approx. 2,680 units, and 8,790 units, respectively.
• In Bengaluru, approx. 8,670 units were sold as compared to 8,630 units sold in Q1 2020.

Q1 2021 New Launch Overview

The top 7 cities saw around 62,130 new homes launched in Q1 2021 (as opposed to 41,220 units in Q1 2020) – a significant increase of 51% Y-o-Y. The key cities contributing to new unit launches in Q1 2021 were MMR, Hyderabad, Pune, and Bengaluru, together accounting for 79% of supply addition.

• In MMR, approx. 14,820 units were launched – a significant increase of nearly 41% over Q1 2020. Over 66% of the new supply was added in the sub INR 80 lakh budget range. 
• Bengaluru added approx. 7,690 units in Q1 2021, a yearly decrease of 11% over Q1 2020. Over 68% of the new supply was added in the sub INR 40 lakh to INR 1.5 Cr price bracket.
• Pune added new supply of approx. 13,820 units in Q1 2021, compared to 7,790 units in Q1 2020 – a massive rise of 77%. Over 60% of the new supply was added in sub INR 40 lakh to INR 80 lakh budget segment.
• NCR added approx. 6,750 units in Q1 2021, a Y-o-Y increase of 9%. Approx. 52% of the new supply was in the affordable segment.
• Hyderabad recorded a massive spike of 273% in new supply from the previous year, with approx. 12,620 units launched in Q1 2021.
• Chennai added approx. 4,620 units in Q1 2021, a Y-o-Y increase of 25% over Q1 2020.
• Kolkata added approx. 1,810 units in Q1 2021, an increase of 66% over Q1 2020. Approx. 41% of the new supply was in the affordable segment.

Price Movements

Average property prices in the top 7 cities saw some movement in Q1 2021, with most cities recording a rise of 1-2% over Q1 2020 – except Kolkata, where prices remained stagnant. NCR and Bengaluru saw property prices rise by 2% during the year.

Unsold Inventory

Changes in the overall unsold stock in Q1 2021 over Q1 2020 were negligible, as new supply between Q4 2020 and Q1 2021 outpaced overall absorption numbers. MMR witnessed the highest yearly reduction in unsold inventory of 8%, while Bengaluru and Kolkata witnessed yearly reductions of 7% each. In contrast, unsold stock increased by 81% in Hyderabad in the same period, due to considerable new supply hitting this city in the last two quarters – Q1 2021 and Q4 2020.

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