New property launches dip in major Indian cities, sales growth tepid in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru

• New launches went down by 2% in Mumbai, and by 4% in Ahmedabad in Jan-Mar 2024.
• At 93,254 units, new launches surpassed sales across the top 8 cities during the first quarter of 2024.
• Pune and Kolkata were the only top cities to see robust growth in sales and new launches.

The country is in the midst of a real estate upcycle, yet the pace of new project launches has slowed down in the top four cities. The number of launches went down by 2% in Mumbai and 4% in Ahmedabad in the January-March quarter of 2024.

National Capital Region (NCR) and Hyderabad showed a marginal 3% and 1% respectively, as per data launched by Knight Frank India. But, that’s only half the story.

Bengaluru’s new launches picked up by 9%, and three cities showed double-digit growth. Kolkata’s new launches grew by a whopping 89%, Pune’s grew by 15% and Chennai's by 10%. Overall, new project launches grew by 7% across the top 8 cities of India.

“New launches were recorded at 93,254 units, surpassing sales in this quarter. Depleted older inventory drove consumers to newly launched properties at attractive prices, lowering average inventory age to 15.9 quarters in Q1 2024 from 16.7 at the end of 2023” says Knight Frank in its report.

Growth in home sales and new launches in Jan-Mar 2024
Source: Knight Frank India

NCR and Bengaluru sales growth is tepid

The overall sales across these cities in Q4 grew 9%, and five of them exhibited double-digit growth. Yet, there are two outliers — NCR sales grew by a marginal 1%, and sales fell by 2% in Bengaluru.

Pune and Kolkata are the only two cities that saw a robust double-digit growth in sales as well as new launches.

High-value home sales are growing at a faster pace than others. Homes priced at ₹1 crore and above accounted for 40% of the same. A year ago, they accounted for 29% of sales. The sales of such units grew by 51%.

Units priced between ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore fell by 6% YoY in Q4. Those under ₹50 lakh fell by 10% YoY, continuing a nine-quarter deceleration trend.

“The residential segment witnessed a significant surge, propelled by continued growth in sales in the higher price category of ₹1 crore and above. This not only demonstrates a strong demand trajectory but also reflects buyers' confidence in making long-term commitments,” says Shishir Baijal, chairman & managing director of Knight Frank India.