Key Highlights
- Residential sales across India’s top seven cities increased 6% year-on-year to 2,14,562 units during January–September 2026.
- Homes priced above Rs 1 crore accounted for 72% of total sales, compared with 62% in the corresponding period last year.
- The Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore category emerged as the biggest growth driver, recording a 54% increase in sales.
- Sales of homes priced below Rs 1 crore declined 23%, highlighting growing pressure on affordable and mass-market housing.
- Mumbai recorded 42,112 residential sales during the first nine months of 2026, registering a marginal 1% decline.
- Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai led the growth in new residential launches, with increases of 41%, 37% and 24%, respectively.
India’s residential property market recorded a 6% year-on-year increase in sales to 2,14,562 apartments across the country’s seven major cities during January–September 2026, reversing the 12% decline witnessed during the corresponding period last year. However, the recovery has come with a significant change in the composition of demand, as premium homes priced above Rs 1 crore accounted for 72% of total sales, while demand for homes priced below Rs 1 crore fell 23%, according to a report by JLL released on November 5, 2026.
The findings indicate that India’s housing market is increasingly being driven by buyers willing to spend more on larger homes, better specifications and projects by established developers. While the overall market has returned to growth, the decline in lower-priced housing sales raises questions about affordability and whether the recovery is reaching the wider homebuying population.
Premium housing accounts for 72% of India’s residential sales
The most significant finding in JLL’s January–September 2026 report is the increasing dominance of premium housing.
Apartments priced at Rs 1 crore and above recorded sales of 1,54,996 units during the first nine months of 2026, representing a 23% year-on-year increase. Their share in total residential sales increased from 62% during January–September 2025 to 72% during the same period this year.
The strongest performance came from the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore category.
This segment recorded sales of 79,320 units, marking a 54% year-on-year increase. Its share of total residential sales increased from 25% in January–September 2025 to 37% in the corresponding period of 2026.
Other premium categories also recorded growth.
Homes priced between Rs 3 crore and Rs 5 crore witnessed a 12% increase in sales to 21,420 units, while properties priced above Rs 5 crore recorded a 15% increase to 13,852 units.
The numbers indicate that the growth in India’s residential property market is increasingly concentrated in higher-ticket housing, particularly the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore segment.
Affordable housing faces another setback as sales decline 23%
While premium housing recorded strong growth, the affordable and mass-market segments continued to lose ground.
Sales of apartments priced below Rs 1 crore declined 23% year-on-year to 59,566 units during January–September 2026, compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
The decline was visible across both lower-priced categories.
Homes priced below Rs 50 lakh recorded a 36% fall in sales to 12,689 units. Their share of total residential sales declined from 10% to 6%.
Meanwhile, properties priced between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore recorded an 18% decline to 46,877 units. Their contribution to overall sales fell from 28% to 22%.
Combined, homes priced below Rs 1 crore accounted for just 28% of total residential sales during January–September 2026, compared with 38% a year earlier.
This shift presents a significant challenge for the broader housing market.
Although developers are witnessing stronger demand for premium apartments, buyers looking for relatively affordable homes appear to be facing increasing affordability pressures.
For first-time homebuyers and middle-income households, the narrowing availability of homes within their purchasing capacity could make entering the property market increasingly difficult.
Mumbai records 42,112 home sales, but Bengaluru overtakes it
Mumbai continued to remain one of India’s largest residential markets, recording 42,112 apartment sales during January–September 2026.
However, the city registered a marginal 1% year-on-year decline compared with the corresponding period last year.
The JLL report includes Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane city and Navi Mumbai in its Mumbai market classification.
Bengaluru emerged as the largest market among the seven cities, recording 54,225 residential sales during the first nine months of 2026, an 18% increase year-on-year.
Pune recorded 35,153 sales, but witnessed a 13% decline, the sharpest contraction among the major markets.
Hyderabad recorded 29,112 sales, registering 16% growth, while Delhi NCR witnessed an 8% increase to 30,242 units.
Chennai recorded 13,094 sales, marking a 22% increase, the highest growth rate among the seven cities. Kolkata recorded 10,624 sales, with volumes remaining broadly unchanged year-on-year.
The city-wise numbers highlight an uneven recovery, with some markets witnessing substantial growth while others are struggling to maintain their previous sales momentum.
Third-quarter sales increase 12% as Hyderabad leads quarterly recovery
Looking specifically at the July–September 2026 quarter, residential sales across the seven cities increased 12% quarter-on-quarter to 76,181 units.
This was higher than the 67,974 units recorded during Q3 2025.
Hyderabad led the quarterly recovery, recording a 70% increase in sales to 13,045 units compared with 8,423 units in Q3 2025.
Kolkata followed with 28% growth, while Bengaluru recorded a 13% increase.
Chennai also recorded a strong performance, with sales increasing to 4,507 units from 3,926 units in the corresponding quarter last year.
However, Mumbai witnessed a 2% quarterly decline, recording 13,595 sales compared with 13,628 units in Q3 2025.
Delhi NCR recorded a 5% decline in quarterly sales.
Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune together accounted for approximately 60% of national sales volume during Q3 2026, retaining their combined share compared with the corresponding period last year.
New residential launches increase 15% as developers chase premium demand
The increase in residential sales has also encouraged developers to introduce additional housing supply.
Residential launches across India’s seven major cities increased 15% year-on-year to 2,59,425 units during January–September 2026.
Bengaluru led the expansion with 66,497 new residential units launched, registering a 41% increase.
Mumbai followed with 52,116 launches, marking a 24% increase, while Hyderabad recorded 39,799 launches, a 37% rise.
Delhi NCR witnessed a 9% increase in launches to 33,032 units.
However, the supply picture was different in some other markets. Chennai recorded a 7% decline in launches to 16,589 units, Kolkata witnessed a 26% contraction to 11,215 units, and Pune recorded a 7% decline to 40,177 units.
During Q3 2026 alone, new launches across the seven cities reached 90,918 units, representing a 28% year-on-year increase over the 70,915 units recorded in Q3 2025.
The launch activity suggests that developers are continuing to align their project pipelines with demand for premium and higher-value residential properties.
Bengaluru leads property price appreciation with 15% growth
Rising demand for premium housing has also been accompanied by an increase in residential capital values.
According to JLL, Bengaluru recorded the highest year-on-year capital value appreciation among the seven major cities during Q3 2026, with prices increasing 15%.
Chennai followed with 12% appreciation, while Kolkata recorded an 11% increase.
Delhi NCR witnessed a 10% rise, while Mumbai recorded 8% appreciation.
Pune registered the lowest increase among the seven markets at 6%, consistent with its relatively weaker sales performance over recent quarters.
JLL attributed the appreciation to robust market fundamentals, rising construction costs and steady homebuyer demand, particularly in premium residential segments.
What JLL says about India’s changing housing market
Siva Krishnan, Senior Managing Director (Chennai & Coimbatore) and Head – Residential Services, India, JLL, said the first nine months of 2026 reaffirmed the structural shift towards premium and larger-format homes.
He highlighted the 54% growth in the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore segment and noted that developers had responded to this demand with a substantial increase in launches.
According to him, the mass housing segment continues to witness demand moderation, indicating a clear divide in buyer preferences.
JLL expects the premium-led growth pattern to remain a defining feature of India’s residential property market through the remainder of 2026.
What does this mean for homebuyers?
The latest numbers point towards a housing market that is recovering in terms of sales volumes but becoming increasingly concentrated in higher-priced properties.
For developers, the trend provides an incentive to launch more premium projects, particularly in markets where demand for larger apartments and higher specifications remains strong.
For homebuyers, however, the picture is more complicated.
The 23% decline in sales of homes priced below Rs 1 crore suggests that the recovery in the housing market is not uniform. Buyers with relatively smaller budgets continue to face affordability constraints even as higher-value properties find increasing demand.
Another important indicator is the 15% increase in residential sales value during the first nine months of 2026, according to JLL. The growth in sales value outpaced the 6% increase in the number of apartments sold, reflecting the increasing contribution of higher-ticket properties.
This distinction is important because rising transaction values do not necessarily mean that more households are finding homes within their budgets.
The Indian residential property market is therefore witnessing two different trends simultaneously: stronger demand for premium housing and a continuing slowdown in the affordable and mass-market segments.
Whether this recovery can become broad-based will depend on how effectively developers address the demand for homes that remain financially accessible to middle-income and first-time buyers.
Also Read: India’s Real Estate Market Shows Resilience in 2025 Despite Global Headwinds
