Housing sales surge across metros

In an encouraging development in the real estate sector, housing sales recorded a 6% surge in calendar year 2018 across eight major cities as developers reduced prices and offered indirect discounts to lure customers, as per property consultant Knight Frank India's latest research report. Sale of residential units increased in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, and declined in Kolkata and Pune. Higher sales volumes resulted in a drop in the number of unsold units by 11% to nearly 4.7 lakh units. An improving regulatory environment, reduced prices, indirect discounts and an increasing infusion of residential products that are more in tune with homebuyers’ preferences, have culminated in a 6% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in sales during 2018, the finding said, elaborating that sales volumes in 2018 were estimated to be 2,42,328 units against 2,28,072 units in the previous year. Bengaluru recorded the highest annual increase in sales of 27% y-o-y in 2018, riding on the back of economic stability and job security. The NCR market saw sales improve by 8% y-o-y in 2018, on the back of stronger sales traction in Noida and Greater Noida, while sales declined in Kolkata (-10%) and Pune (-1%) in 2018, against 2017. Government incentives such as lower GST rates and infrastructure status to affordable housing also fueled demand.