Delhi-NCR: 5.68L houses under construction; periodic bans add to buyers' woes

While there are nearly 5.68 lakh houses under various stages of construction in Delhi-NCR, any kind of periodic ban on construction by different agencies can only delay the projects, adding to the woes of the buyers.

The maximum number of under-construction units is in Noida and Greater Noida areas, accounting for nearly 2.70 lakh units, as per an estimate.

On average, a one-month ban on all construction activity delays a project by at least 3-4 months, according to research by Anarock consultants.

As per the research, the areas in Delhi-NCR with the maximum under construction units presently include Greater Noida West, Yamuna Expressway, New Gurugram, Noida Expressway, Dwarka Expressway, Central Noida, Sector 150 (Noida), Greater Faridabad, Raj Nagar Ext (Ghaziabad), Sohna and Golf Course Ext Road.

These areas together have more than 4 lakh units that are currently under various stages of construction. Greater Noida West alone has more than 1.37 lakh under-construction units currently.

The air quality in Delhi-NCR has turned poor and heavy smog has started engulfing the region. This year too, to battle pollution, an action plan has been rolled out in advance, mandating that if the pollution levels breach certain levels (i.e., Stage III or 'severe'), authorities will have to enforce a ban on construction and demolition activities in NCR, except on essential projects (like railways, metros, airports, ISBTs, national security/defence-related projects of national importance).

Apart from this, the construction of projects also gets hampered due to protests on the issue of land compensation.

The Anarock research said that being periodic, the impact of these construction bans on overall property prices is almost negligible. Moreover, real estate prices in most cities are not so much a function of environmental concerns as of accessibility, proximity to the city centres or major employment hubs, urban mobility via various modes of public transport, and affordability.

In Mumbai too, the city perennially experiences floods during monsoon, yet property prices remain steady. In fact, in the last two-and-a-half years since the pandemic, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has been the most active in terms of both new supply and new launches.

As for Delhi-NCR, the region too has been very active. While developers restricted new supply, housing sales have been significant.

In fact, the region has shed at least 23 per cent of its unsold stock in the last 2.5 years since the pandemic.

Back in Q1 2020-end, the overall unsold stock in Delhi-NCR stood at 1.73 lakh units which have reduced to a little over 1.32 lakh units as of Q3 2022-end, said the Anarock research.

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