Strongly rooted in high homeownership sentiment, the realty sector during the first quarter of 2022 has predominantly remained end-user driven. The top six cities of India witnessed the new launches of close to 80,000+ housing units, noting an exorbitant QoQ rise of 43%, according to Square Yards.
While MMR continued to retain its top position in the number of new residential units launched with a share of 35%, Pune accounted for 25% of the total new launches.
As per the latest report by Square Yards titled ‘India Residential Overview: Jan-Mar 2022,’ with a 26% share of the total online searches in Q1, 2022, MMR was the most searched city, closely followed by Hyderabad at 22%. Mid-segment properties in the budget bracket of Rs 30-60 lakh and Rs 60-100 lakh were the most searched by online property seekers in Q1, 2022.
The report captures the trends of the housing market amidst the changing buyer preferences under the influence of a few policy reforms, expected price appreciation, and demand-supply dynamics. The cities covered in the report include Hyderabad, Bengaluru, MMR, Pune, Noida, and Gurugram.
Rooted in strong developer confidence, 3BHK configurations formed more than 40% of the residential supply in Bengaluru and Gurugram for Q1, 2022.
Interestingly, while 2BHK units continued to be the most preferred by homebuyers in Q1 2022 with 42% of the total demand share, the preference for 1BHK units also inched up. The recent announcements of property tax waivers on smaller configurations in MMR and adjacent areas and speculations around expected property price appreciation are the most likely factors behind the cursory trend. The demand for 3BHK and above configurations also remained evident.
“Even though home buying trends in the post-Covid era has been largely influenced by the need for space, health and wellness amenities, demand trends in Q1, 2022 shifted slightly towards smaller units. The first quarter of 2022 recorded a 42% share of the total online searches for 2BHK units, a small rise of 3% as compared to Q4, 2021, whereas demand for 3BHK homes dropped slightly. However, this shift seems to be completely transient. The most probable reason for this seems to be the tendency of home buyers to go for properties within the affordable to the mid-segment range to avoid any further delay in finalizing deals as speculations of a price hike across property markets are ripe,” the report noted.
Independent homes are once again in vogue with a 27% share of the total property searches across the top six cities. Southern cities, namely Hyderabad and Bengaluru, lead the searches with about 42% demand each for independent homes in the cities during the Jan-Mar 2022 quarter.
Demand for luxury and ultra-luxury residential spaces (>3000 Sq. Ft.) was more prominent in Bengaluru and Gurugram with a 12% and 8% share, respectively, for the total online searches recorded in these cities.