‘Sticker shock’ jolt ousts home buyers

The national trend is in sync with Pune with estimates of falling sales ranging from 20 to 28 percent. Brokerage and consultancy firm PropEquityreported housing sales for the April-June quarter this year fell 19 percent year-on-year to 94,864 units, while new supply dropped 30 percent to 82,027 units across 9 major metros.

Mumbai saw the steepest declines– home sales fell 34 percent to 8,006 units while new supply too plunged 61 percent to 4,949 units. Of the 9 cities surveyed, 7 saw declines in sales and supply, but Delhi-NCR and Chennai bucked the trend with sales up by 16 and 9 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, housing sales in Bengaluru declined 6 percent to 14,676 units in the second calendar quarter while supply fell by 13 percent to 14,243 units on a y-o-y basis; Hyderabad registered a sharper fall of 20 percent to 11,815 units.

This is significant. For the first time since the July-September quarter of 2021 all-India housing sales have fallen below the one lakh units. Supply, too, has stayed below the one lakh mark for the fourth consecutive quarter, perhaps to hold up the price line.

Analysts blame the uncertainty on the uncertainty in global markets and the high base effect with the previous two years having experienced rapid sales and upward moving prices. However, it does need rocket science to understand the big factor responsible for consumer resistance is high, and inflexible property prices.

Recent data by Anarock Property Consultants shows properties in Delhi NCR’s Noida, particularly Sector 150, saw capital values spiral 128 percent between 2021 and 2024. In contrast, the monthly rental yields for a two bed, 1,000 sq ft apartment in Noida Sector 150 grew only by 66%.

Unaffordable prices