Bigger the better? Hyderabad houses flats with highest average sizes: Report

HYDERABAD: Even as the average sizes of flats grew in almost all the top cities of the country thanks to the work from home (WFH) era ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic, Hyderabad has scored with the highest average flat size of 2,200 sq ft in the first quarter of 2023 followed only by NCR with average size of 1,700 sq ft as compared to Q1 of 2022.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Chennai, however, were the only exceptions. While MMR registered a decline in average flat sizes to 743 sq ft, Chennai saw this come down to 1,175 sq ft as per ANAROCK.
Interestingly, NCR saw the highest growth in average flat sizes at 50%, followed by Kolkata (40%) and Hyderabad (29%) in the period under consideration.
Pointing out that size continues to matter for Indian homebuyer, even after relative market normalcy has been restored post the Covid-19 pandemic, ANAROCK Group chairman Anuj Puri said that prior to the pandemic apartment sizes were shrinking annually to meet the demand for compact homes that was prevalent then.
“The central concerns were affordability and millennials’ preference for low-maintenance homes. 2020 saw an abrupt reversal of buyer preferences. With a sudden emphasis on the WFH and study-from-home culture, flat sizes began increasing for the first time in four years. In 2023, property prices are heading north but the demand for bigger homes continues,” he said.