Business: Housing sales increased marginally to 96,827 units in the July-September quarter in eight major cities of the country. However, sales in Delhi-NCR have declined by 14 percent. In the same period a year ago, 96,544 houses were sold in eight cities. Offerings of new residential projects increased to 94,419 units in the July-September quarter from 91,863 units a year ago.

According to the report of real estate portal Housing.com, house sales in Bangalore increased by 23 percent to 13,688 units. In Chennai it stood at 5,389 units with an increase of 51 percent. In Kolkata, 4,007 houses were sold, an increase of 43 per cent, while in Hyderabad it increased by 5 per cent to 12,138 units. However, house sales in the Delhi-NCR market declined by 14 per cent to 8,668 units compared to a year ago. In Mumbai, 28,690 houses were sold with a decline of four percent. Housing sales in Ahmedabad and Pune declined by 11 percent each to 8,297 and 15,950 units respectively.

Rising prices affected the demand for affordable houses
Praveen Sharma, CEO of REA India, which owns Housing.com, said the continuously rising prices over the last five years have significantly impacted the demand for the affordable housing category. Demand and supply in premium and high-end residential segments is strong, but supply in the affordable residential category is limited. Developers should be encouraged to increase supply in this category.

House prices increased by 19 percent in July-September
On the back of strong demand, house prices in the top eight residential markets recorded a growth of seven to 19 per cent in the July-September quarter. Prices have increased the most in Delhi-NCR by 19 percent. The main reason for this is the demand for luxury properties due to improved infrastructure.

According to the report of real estate advisory company PropTiger, prices in Bangalore and Hyderabad have increased by 15 percent and 13 percent respectively. Prices have increased by 7.9 percent in Ahmedabad, 9 percent in Chennai and 8 percent in Kolkata. Prices in Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Pune have increased by 7 percent and 9 percent respectively.

The report said the significant growth of 15 per cent year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter growth of 12.6 per cent reflects Bengaluru’s strong market infrastructure and growing confidence of home buyers. At the same time, Delhi-NCR’s steady growth clearly reflects the strengthening market infrastructure rather than a short-term boom.