NEW DELHI: Housing sales and new launches in southern India have picked up substantially in the last quarter of 2020 despite an overall slump in demand. According to a report from market research firm Proptiger.com, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai accounted for 43 per cent of overall national launches in the December quarter as well 29 per cent of the total sales recorded.
Hyderabad continued to defy the national trend in terms of year-on-year price appreciation, witnessing a steady rise in prices and recording the most number of new launches at 12,723, followed by Bengaluru at 6,104 units, and Chennai at 4,887. However, Bengaluru accounted for the maximum housing sales recorded with 7,660 units being sold followed by Hyderabad at 6,487 and Chennai at 3,180.
The affordable housing segment (units priced up to Rs 45 lakh) remains a key driver of demand and constituted a large part of the sales during the quarter, contributing 27 per cent and 25 per cent to launch and sales numbers respectively. In Chennai, this segment contributed 38 per cent and 37 per cent, while in Hyderabad it accounted for 35 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.
In terms of unsold stock or inventory, Bengaluru had the largest at 71,198 units followed by Hyderabad (39,308) and Chennai (36,609). The inventory overhang, which is described as the time taken by realtors to sell the units, has increased since 2019 with demand steadily outpaced by supply.
“Despite tremendous pressure because of a demand slowdown nationally, Hyderabad continues to buck the trend to witness consistent price growth. In Q4, too, the average rate of newly-launched projects in this pharmaceutical hub increased 5 per cent year-on-year. Due to a consistent increase in average rates, property prices are the highest in Hyderabad currently. Bengaluru and Chennai also witnessed a 2 per cent annual increase in average values,” the report pointed out.