Housing sales fell 46 per cent in July-September 2020 amid COVID-19: Anarock report

NEW DELHI: India's top seven cities witnessed 46 per cent drop in sales of residential properties during the July-September quarter at 29,520 units, amid muted demand due to COVID-19 pandemic, according to property consultant Anarock.

Housing sales in July-September 2019, stood at 55,080 units across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune. During the January-September period this year sales have declined by 57 per cent to 87,460 units, from 2,02,200 units a year ago.

Commenting on the numbers, Anarock chairman Anuj Puri said sales during July-September have more than doubled from the previous quarter when the coronavirus pandemic had brought sales down to just 12,730 units.

He said the Indian housing sector has made a decisive comeback in the third quarter of 2020 calendar year, with sales rebounding to 65 per cent of the pre-COVID-19 levels. The leading residential brokerage firm said that for January-March quarter, sales were at 45,200 units.

According to Anarock data, sales have declined in all seven cities during July-September 2020 from the year-ago period. Housing sales in NCR fell to 5,200 units in July-September, from 9,830 units a year ago. In MMR, sales declined to 9,200 units from 17,180 units.

Sales of residential properties in Bengaluru dipped to 5,400 units, from 10,500 units, while in Pune demand slid to 4,850 units from 8,550 units. Hyderabad witnessed sales of 1,650 units, as against 3,280 units in the year-ago period.

Housing sales in Chennai during the third quarter of this calendar year stood at 1,600 units, as against 2,620 units a year ago. Kolkata, too, witnessed a fall in demand to 1,620 units from 3,120 units. Even during the January-September period of 2020, sales have fallen drastically over the corresponding period last year, the Anarock data showed.

In Delhi-NCR, the sales of residential properties declined to 15,450 units in January-September this year, from 36,210 units in the year-ago period. MMR saw a significant drop in sales to 26,730 units, from 62,550 units, while Bengaluru witnessed a dip in demand to 17,020 units from 39,240 units.

Housing sales in Pune decreased to 14,200 units from 31,380 units, while residential demand in Hyderabad softened to 4,980 units from 13,110 units. Chennai witnessed a drop in sales to 4,280 units from 9,040 units. Anarock said that housing sales in Kolkata fell to 4,800 units during January-September this year, from 10,670 units a year ago.