Housing sales drop 18% due to shraddh period, ban on subvention: Report

Housing sales in top seven cities of the country in third quarter of 2019 have fallen 18 per cent on a yearly basis due to shraadh period and ban on subvention schemes, said a new report. Housing launches fell 13 per cent during the period.

In the last quarter, home sales had fallen 13 per cent on a yearly basis.

On a quarterly basis, housing sales in Q3 2019 saw a decline of 20 per cent across the top 7 cities and launches fell by 34 per cent over the same period, said a report by Anarock Property Consultants.

“The ongoing ‘shraadh’ period - seen as inauspicious in many parts of the country – coupled with the ban on the subvention schemes compounded the quarterly dip. Also, above normal and heavy rainfall impacted the number of site visits resulting in longer decision-making cycle,” the report said.

Bengaluru saw the highest drop in absorption at 35 per cent in Q3 on a yearly basis, while Hyderabad saw 32 per cent decline. Mumbai Metroplitan Region (MMR) saw six per cent decline while NCR saw 13 per cent decline in absorption on a yearly basis in Q3.

On a quarterly basis, Hyderabad saw the maximum decline of 26 per cent during the quarter with housing absorption falling from 4,430 units in Q2 2019 to 3,280 units in Q3 2019. Chennai and Kolkata saw the least sales decline at 12 per cent each. 

In terms of launches, NCR saw the maximum supply rise of 38 per cent among the top cities on yearly basis and MMR saw a drop of 29 per cent, Anarock said.

On a quarertly perspective, only Kolkata saw quarterly rise in new launches in Q3 2019, increasing by 19 per cent from 2,640 units in Q2 2019 to 3,130 units in Q3 2019. On the contrary, NCR saw maximum quarterly decline of 57 per cent - from 13,570 new units in Q2 2019 to 5,790 units in this quarter. 

Among categories, affordable housing continued to dominate - accounting for a 41% share of overall new launches (45,230 units) in Q3 2019, followed by 36 per cent in the mid-segment priced between Rs 40-80 lakh.

Anuj Puri, chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants said, “The decline in new supply and housing sales in this quarter was expected as both homebuyers and developers remained cautious and risk-averse. The slew of economy-boosting measures by the government to spur growth across sectors will very likely give the housing sector a leg-up in the festive season and the ensuing quarters.”

“As evidenced by the quick revival of the stock markets, these measures have already bolstered all-round sentiment. Housing is intensely sentiment-driven and we expect the numbers to improve significantly going forward. Most importantly for the sector, we are seeing a gradual revival of investor confidence. The recent corporate tax cut will spur investments from both domestic and foreign investors – the real need of the hour.”