India housing sales rise 12 per cent

As property demand gained momentum, housing sales increased 12 per cent during January-March compared to the previous quarter, according to a report by PropTiger.com.

The report noted that various measures taken by the government at the Centre as well as by several state governments to boost buyer confidence have started to show positive outcomes, led to the rise in home sales in India’ eight prime residential markets.

According to the report titled ‘Real Insight - Q1CY21’, developers sold a total of 66,176 homes in the primary market in the first quarter of 2021.

When compared to Q1CY20, however, home sales in the markets covered in the analysis showed a decline of 5 per cent, it added.

“As the economy gradually marches towards recovery, as reflected in global rating agencies and think-tanks revising India’s growth forecasts for 2021 and 2022, the residential real estate market in the country is also seeing a positive momentum on the back of various measures taken by the centre and state governments, the RBI and the entire banking system,” said Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, PropTiger.com.

He noted that this positive change is visible in the first quarter through an increase in supply numbers, an indication that developers are more comfortable now with regard to liquidity support and buyer sentiment.

Metrics on the demand side have also been largely stable with the job market opening up again in various industries, giving people the confidence to take advantage of a property market that is at its most affordable for home buyers in years, Agarwala said.

“Though the recent surge in Covid infections concentrated in a few markets is a concern, we expect the residential market recovery to continue,” he added.

On the supply side, a total of 53,037 units were launched across India during the three-month period. This marked an annual growth of 49 per cent in housing supply.