Housing sales up 12% in Jan-Mar over previous quarter: Report

Housing sales rose by 12 percent in seven major cities to 49,200 units during January-March period over the previous quarter on better demand from end-customers post enactment of new realty law RERA, according to property consultant ANAROCK.

Sales stood at 43,800 units in the October-December quarter of 2017 across seven cities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, the consultant said in its housing report for the first quarter of 2018.

New supply increased by 27 percent to around 33,300 units in Q1 2018 from 26,300 units in Q4 2017. As a result, unsold inventory decreased by mere 2 percent from 7.27 lakh units in Q4 2017 to 7.11 lakh units by Q1 2018.

"The series of policy reforms and structural changes have transformed the way Indian real estate business is conducted. This has been a definite blessing. The sector is by no means out of the woods yet, but we are now seeing some green shoots of recovery,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants.

The market has turned end-user friendly, he said adding that there is no mismatch between demand and new supply.

The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, which aims to bring transparency and eliminate fly-by-night developers from the sector, came into effect from May last year.

"In Q1 2018, sales across top 7 cities of India also rose by 12 percent compared to Q4 2017, indicating that serious homebuyers are back, attracted by the new environment of transparency, accountability and financial discipline," the report said.

NCR, MMR, Bengaluru and Pune together accounted for 80 percent of the sales.

Housing sales in Kolkata increased by 42 percent from 2,400 units in Q4 2017 to 3,400 units in Q1 2018. Sales in Bengaluru and Pune increased by 15 percent over the previous quarter and were recorded at 11,500 units and 6,800 units, respectively.

MMR witnessed 12 percent rise in residential sales from 11,000 units in Q4 2017 to 12,300 units in Q1 2018.

Housing sales in Delhi-NCR increased by 11 percent from 8,200 units in Q4 2017 to 9,100 units in Q1 2018. Sales in Hyderabad were up 3 percent at 3,800 units.

However, Chennai saw 12 percent decline in sales from 2,600 units in Q4 2017 to 2,300 units in Q1 2018.

Residential property prices remained largely range-bound in Q1 2018 when compared to the previous quarter. The primary reason was the significant unsold stock to the backdrop of limited improvement in demand, the consultant said.