Gurgaon, Mumbai see biggest dip in house sales in Q4

High prices and low demand continue to pull down the sales of residential units in big cities. The volume of residential units sold in Gurgaon and Mumbai has come down by 77 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2013 when compared with the corresponding period last year, said a report by Goldman Sachs.

Quoting data from PropEquity, Goldman Sachs said by value, sales in Bangalore went up six per cent year-on-year, while those in Gurgaon and Mumbai went down 73 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively.

Price escalation seems to be one of the primary reasons for the sales trend. According to Goldman Sachs, over the past four years, Bangalore has seen an average price increase of 10 per cent compared with 25 per cent for Gurgaon and 17 per cent for Mumbai.

“Overall sentiments are down due to high prices and delay in competition of projects. People are also expecting rates to come down and policies from the new government to reduce their burden,” said Santhosh Kumar, chief executive (operations), JLL, a global property consultant.

However, Bangalore has seen 56 per cent decline in absorption of commercial properties in Q4 of calendar year 2013, while NCR and Mumbai have experienced a jump of 21 per cent and three per cent, respectively.

Although vacancy levels in Mumbai and NCR are at 30 per cent, in Bangalore it is at four per cent, the study says.