A'bad see highest dip in new housing units for H1 of 2013

A subdued demand due to economic slowdown in residential property market has led to a drop in launch of new units in Ahmedabad for the first half (H1) of 2013 on a year-on-year basis. As against a launch of 4987 residential units in H1 of 2012, the city saw only 1706 new units being introduced for the corresponding period this year, registering a dip of 65.8 per cent.

The dip in launch of new residential units in Ahmedabad is the highest among the top eight cities, as per the latest report by real estate consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield. Following Ahmedabad is Chennai which saw only 5,491 new units being launched in H1 2013 as against 12, 693 units in H1 2012, registering a dip of 56.7 per cent. Apart from Ahmedabad and Chennai, NCR and Pune were the only cities which witnessed a decline in new project launches in H1 2013 compared to the same period last year.

On the other hand, major cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore registered a whopping 235 per cent and 193.9 per cent rise in the number of new residential units being launched for the said period.

While Hyderabad saw 4992 new units being launched in H1 2013 as against 1,488 units in H1 2012, Bangalore saw 22,219 new units being launched in first half of the current year as compared to 7,558 new units for the corresponding period last year.

Cushman & Wakefield reported that an estimated 47,000 residential units were launched by organized developers in the second quarter of 2013 in major cities registering an increase of approximately 14 per cent over the previous quarter. The unit launches for the first half of the year totaled to approximately 88,177 representing an increase of 11 per cent over the period last year. The mid-end segment continued to constitute majority (58 per cent) of the overall launches during H1 2013.

According to the real estate consulting firm, with demand remaining subdued due to high prices, developers have tried to reduce ticket size by offering smaller configurations.

"This move has helped reduce ticket size by up to 20-25% and increase sales velocity. Most new projects are also offering some form of subvention scheme or favourable payment schedules to attract buyers," the report stated.

What's more, mid-end segment has witnessed a y-o-y capital appreciation of about 13-20 per cent, whereas the capital appreciation even exceeded 20 per cent, the report stated.

Meanwhile, the cities also saw fluctuation in rental and capital values during the quarter due to change in demand and supply dynamics and investment sentiment.