Mid-range, premium housing demand drive India’s residential market - Sales in 2022 to exceed 2014 peak

• Affordable housing supply reduced to 21% in 2022 as compared to 40% in 2019 in the real estate market in India.
  
• The Anarock data projects that the total sales in the top 7 cities will exceed 3.6 lakh units in 2022, which is more than the 2014 peak sales of 3.43 lakh units.
  
• Housing sales and new launches in the Jan-Sept period this year also surpassed the 2019 record with 2.73 lakh units sold and new launches at 2.65 lakh units.

The year 2022 saw a robust growth in the housing and residential segment that helped accelerate the recovery in the overall real estate market from the pandemic-induced slump. And it was the mid-range, premium and luxury segments that led this growth while it was a lean period for affordable homes sales.

As per Anarock data, in the first nine months of 2022, affordable housing supply reduced to 21% of the 2.65 lakh units launched in the top 7 cities during this period. In contrast, in the pre-Covid year of 2019, this segment had the highest supply share with 40% of the 2.36 lakh units launched in the top 7 cities that year.

“Affordable housing had a lean time, with more buyers in this segment going into wait-and-watch mode; unsurprisingly, new supply in this category reduced markedly,” said Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Group.

The data further projects that the total sales in the top 7 cities will exceed 3.6 lakh units in 2022, which is more than the 3.43 lakh units sold in the previous peak year of 2014.

Housing sales and new launches in the Jan-Sept period this year also surpassed the 2019 record with 2.73 lakh units sold and new launches at 2.65 lakh units, according to the Anarock data. In 2019, about 2.61 lakh units were sold, with new supply at 2.34 lakh units.

Low home loan rates for most of the year and the pandemic-driven need for homeownership among people drove the growth of the real estate market. The year 2022 also saw a 5-7% rise in property rates after almost 2-3 years – however, neither this nor the increased home loan rates post the RBI rate hikes beginning May hindered the sales of residential properties.

Tier 2 and 3 market also recorded strong growth

Anarock’s consumer sentiment survey released in September found that Tier 2 & 3 cities are the first preference for 25% of property seekers looking to invest in 2023.

Lucknow and Ahmedabad, among all Tier 2 and 3 cities, recorded fairly decent sales and new launches in the residential segment this year..

“Many Tier 2 & 3 cities are the new growth engines, where a lot of the country's real estate action will take place in the coming years. Their top favorites include Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Nashik, Kochi, and Lucknow, where low property prices and improved infrastructure facilities are powerful investment magnets,” Puri further said.

As per Anarock, thanks to robust sales and restricted new supply in 2022, unsold inventory in NCR reduced to 1.33 lakh units by Q3 2022-end – the lowest since 2013, when it was 1.51 lakh units.

Moreover, new launches in 2022 were dominated by top developers like DLF, Godrej, M3M, Puri Constructions and Mahagun, which also helped boost consumer confidence and increase sales.

Rental property demands surged again

With more companies opening up their offices, the demand for rental properties saw a surge again.

According to Puri, the rental market demand not only breached but surpassed pre-pandemic levels, rising 20-25% against pre-pandemic levels on average, with some popular societies even registering an over 30% jump in demand.

Grade A developers – who are well-known developers with reputed clients like MNCs and high-networth individuals – had more market share in 2022. About 60% of the 2.65 lakh units launched in the first three quarters of the year was by branded developers - who also sold more than 55% of the 2.73 lakh units purchased in this period.

Plotted developments also gained momentum in 2022, especially in south Indian cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad. “Plot buyers have taken a futuristic investment perspective and are betting on the superior and safer long-term ROI (return on investment) of land over built-up properties. Many large developers catered to this demand in 2022,” said Puri.

Suburbs also were also popular among homebuyers. Anarock’s consumer sentiment survey found that over 42% of the consumers continued to prefer peripheral/suburban areas where they can buy bigger homes with better lifestyle amenities at lower prices.

Only 10% of respondents still chose walk-to-work city center locations, and only 23% were within the city limits, as per the Anarock consumer sentiment survey.

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