India's residential property sales decline by 6% in July-September quarter

As per the figures, housing sales across major cities dropped to 1,03,170 units in the July-September period, compared with 1,09,420 units in the corresponding quarter last year.

Residential property sales across India's nine major cities declined by six per cent during the July-September quarter, dropping to 1.03 lakh units. According to the real estate research and analytics platform, PropEquity, the dip can be largely attributed to weak demand and a reduction in fresh housing supply during the quarter. Global economic uncertainty also played a part in dampening buyer sentiment, the data showed. As per the figures, housing sales across these nine cities dropped to 1,03,170 units in the July-September period, compared with 1,09,420 units in the corresponding quarter last year. New housing supply also contracted, falling to 98,165 units from 1,00,330 units over the same period. Notably, the July-September quarter typically records slower housing sales owing to the monsoon season, which tends to discourage developers from rolling out new projects. Demand and sales usually pick up in the October-December quarter, driven by festive-season buying. Developers, anticipating this seasonal uptick, generally ramp up new launches and roll out incentives to attract buyers during this period.

City-wise performance

Bengaluru registered a modest one per cent rise in sales to 17,340 units, up from 17,170 units a year earlier. Hyderabad recorded a stronger uptick, with sales climbing 11 per cent to 15,470 units against 13,890 units previously. Navi Mumbai also posted healthy growth, with sales up 12 per cent to 9,810 units, compared to 8,730 units in the year-ago quarter. However, most other cities saw a downturn. Mumbai's residential sales fell eight per cent to 9,830 units from 10,690 units, while neighbouring Thane, part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, witnessed an 11 per cent decline to 16,230 units from 18,240 units. Pune recorded the steepest fall among the larger markets, with sales down 16 per cent to 17,860 units from 21,190 units. Delhi-NCR saw a 12 per cent drop to 8,090 units from 9,230 units. Chennai and Kolkata both registered a 17 per cent decline in sales. Chennai's numbers fell to 4,680 units from 5,640 units, while Kolkata's sales dropped to 3,860 units from 4,640 units in the same period last year.