Sales volume in real estate sector in Chennai declines: Study

Sales volume in the real estate sector in the city during the last one year witnessed a 33 per cent decline owing to the impact of global slowdown due to high inflation and negative buyer sentiments, research firm Knight Frank said today.
"Chennai garnered an absorption of 3.5 million square feet. It is a drop of 15 per cent from the previous year. City witnessed a drop in sales volume to the tune of 33 per cent in 2013," Knight Frank said in a statement.
"The year 2013 has not been very kind to the Chennai market and like all the other major cities in the country even Chennai suffered the onslaught of the current slowdown in the real estate sector," Knight Frank India Chairman and Managing Director Shishir Baijal said.

Factors such as slowing economic growth, rising interest rates, high inflation have contributed towards building a negative sentiment within the residential space and sales in the office market also declined by 23 per cent, he said.
However, the research firm said the prices continued to increase by five to seven per cent despite the drop in the sales volume.