Housing sales fell marginally by 1 per cent during January-June period this year, while gross leasing of office space rose 3 per cent across eight major cities, according to Knight Frank India. Releasing its bi-annual report for India’s top eight realty market on real estate, consultant Knight Frank India stated that the sales have dipped 1 per cent to 1,56,640 units in January-June from 1,58,705 units in the year-ago period. In contrast, gross office space leasing increased 3 per cent to 26.1 million square feet from 25.3 million square feet.
Expert views on Knight Frank Report Housing sales Report
1. Mr. Mohit Jain, Managing Director, Krisumi Corporation
Continuing with an upward trend, India’s top residential markets have performed well in June quarter as sales increased on account of robust demand across all price brackets. Strong appetite to own housing properties is driving sales. Stable interest rate regime on home loans also helped boost sales. With interest rates having stabilized and expected to even start falling by the end of this year, sales momentum is expected to continue.
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2. Mr. Amit Goyal, Managing Director, India Sotheby’s International Realty
The residential market in India has been experiencing sustained growth since 2020. In the calendar year 2022, housing sales also reached an all-time high. We see this very minor moderation in the June 2023 quarter, as a brief pause, mostly due to a decline in ready to move in quality inventory in good locations of top seven cities of India. Barring that, we expect home sales to maintain their growth momentum, with projections pointing to another strong year. End-users’ demand for residential properties has strengthened, and we are also witnessing a gradual return of investors, particularly in the high-end and luxury residential segments. This renewed interest is also fuelled by price appreciation after a prolonged period of stagnant home prices in India.
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3. Mr. Atul Banshal, Director-Finance, Omaxe Ltd.
Various factors are contributing to this bull run — pent up demand, people considering home ownership aggressively after the pandemic and the overall revival in the Indian economy. The RBI’s decision to pause hike in repo rate in the last two monetary policy meetings has also helped in creating positive sentiments.
We expect the sales momentum to continue in the second half of the year riding on regular plus festive demand.
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4.Mr. Pradeep Aggarwal, Founder & Chairman, Signature Global (India) Ltd
India’s residential market is on a growth path. It is at the beginning of a long-term upcycle. In 2022 calendar year, housing sales not only surpassed pre-COVID level but touched an all-time high. The trend will continue and we are set to witness another record year. End-users demand has strengthened, while investors are gradually returning to the market after seeing price appreciation after a decade of stagnation.