The gap has widened in recent years. Residential prices across the 11 emerging markets increased 63% between 2021 and 2026, compared with 42% across the top eight cities. The markets covered include Lucknow, Jaipur, Chandigarh Tricity, Indore, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Goa, Kochi, Nagpur and Visakhapatnam. The figures represent the combined performance of these markets and do not indicate Lucknow’s individual price growth.
The trend is also drawing attention to other business centres in Uttar Pradesh, including Moradabad in the Bareilly region. The city has a manufacturing and export base centred on brassware and handicrafts, along with established trade and professional activity. Housing demand has traditionally focused on plots and individually constructed homes.
Moradabad is connected to the Delhi-Lucknow highway corridor and has links with Ghaziabad, Noida and the wider National Capital Region. The city also serves surrounding districts through its trade and healthcare infrastructure.
The Uttar Pradesh government has earmarked funds for a planned township in Moradabad as part of a wider housing initiative in western Uttar Pradesh. Private sector activity is also emerging, with Moradabad-based Lohia Worldspace entering the real estate sector with Lohia ONE, a proposed development of 175 villas across 10 acres.
Pyush Lohia, Director, Lohia Worldspace, said the city’s manufacturing and export economy has created a substantial base of families seeking homes close to their businesses. He said buyer preferences are shifting towards larger homes, shared amenities and professionally maintained residential developments.
The study also highlights the link between commercial activity and housing demand. Lucknow and five other emerging markets recorded 5.3 million sq ft of warehousing leasing in 2025, accounting for nearly half of the total transactions across the tier-II cities tracked in the study.
Dr Aditya Shukla, President, NAREDCO Uttar Pradesh, said markets such as Moradabad, Kanpur, Unnao, Barabanki and adjoining districts would depend on local employment, infrastructure and residential projects that meet buyer requirements. He said the manufacturing, trade and entrepreneurship base in these cities could support demand for organised housing as connectivity and local economies expand.
