Housing launches in some metro areas fell in 2015

Some sub-markets of metropolitan cities saw a reduction of four to 20 per cent in launch prices of housing projects in 2015 over the previous two years, says property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

The Delhi-National Capital Region saw launches of 23,000 units in 2015, of which 79 per cent were along the Dwarka Expressway, New Gurgaon Southern Peripheral Road, Sohna, Noida Expressway and Noida Extension. Half the new launches were in the mid-segment.

Mumbai saw a 37 per cent decline in project launches, totalling 15,735 units, from the corresponding period last year. Mulund, Thane, Goregaon and Malad accounted for about half the total.

The Cushman report also mentions developments in the southwest and southern sub-markets in Bengaluru.

New launches were smaller in configuration, with reduced base selling prices and smaller units. Goregaon in Mumbai saw the biggest decline in average weighted basic sale price, at 20 per cent, at Rs 10,500 a sq ft. Followed by Thane which saw an 18 per cent decline.

In contrast, most of the sub-markets in Bengaluru witnessed steady launch prices, except in the far south and western sub-markets, where average new launch prices in 2015 declined by two to seven per cent as compared to 2013. The southeast micro market there was an exception, with both the average weighted basic sale price (19 per cent) and the average size (18 per cent) of the apartment seeing an increase.