The residential marketplace in Delhi NCR, that suffered a enormous setback in the preceding quarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported about 40 per cent development in the sales volume in October-December 2020 against July-September 2020. With about 4,500 units sold, the city emerged as the second-biggest contributor to housing sales across metros, next to Mumbai. Nevertheless, the numbers have been nevertheless about 25 % decrease than the Jan-Mar 2020, reveals the Delhi-NCR Insite Report for Oct-Dec’20 by 99acres.com.
According to the report, new launches declined by 25 per cent YoY with merely nine projects announced in the assessment period. Barring a couple of additions by premium developers such as Godrej, DLF and BPTP, fresh housing provide in Delhi NCR remained low-crucial. Builders refrained from new project announcements, and focused on offloading their current inventory and creating money inflow. Many developers also deferred their expansion plans to calibrate their project styles as per the customers’ altered preferences.
The demand-provide disequilibrium did not alter the typical ‘asks.’ Builders afraid to shed their prospective patrons abstained from rising rates. Resultantly, house values across zones maintained a status quo in Q4 2020 against the preceding quarter.
Speaking on the report, Maneesh Upadhyaya, Chief Business Officer, 99acres.com, stated, “Amid the turbulence created by the COVID-19 pandemic, RBI and GOI announced several measures to aid economic revival. Bringing down home loan interest rates to almost a 15-year-low, stamp duty reductions in Maharashtra and Karnataka, liquidity infusion measures, one-time restructuring of loans and supportive stance for NBFCs, MSMEs, and real estate sector comforted businesses and individuals. With gradual unlocking of cities and news around possible vaccinations, normalcy started returning to the market. This all cumulatively helped push housing demand up and the last quarter of the year recorded a marked improvement in sales against the previous ones.”
Notably, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Chennai reported a 10-45% rise in house sales in Oct-Dec 2020 against Jul-Sep 2020. Improved seller self-confidence in the marketplace was also evident from a 15 % rise in owner sale listings posted on 99acres in the very same period.
“With the infection rate reducing and vaccination drives starting across the country, the worst seems to be behind us and the subsequent revival in businesses, and individual home ownership appetite are likely to aid realty growth in 2021,” he added.
While residential enquiries in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad grew by almost 20 % QoQ in Oct-Dec 2020, sales remained meek. The quick-depleting prepared-to-move inventory and pick developers rising the ask prices due to the price overruns in the ongoing projects impaired the homebuying sentiment. Consequently, the transactions continued to be decrease than the pre-COVID-19 occasions.
Expeditious improvement on the Jewar Airport and the expanding Blue Line and Aqua Line metro networks boded nicely for places alongside, especially Greater Noida West. Low-price inventory pegged at about Rs 3,000-4,400 per sq ft, and enhancing social infrastructure helped the marketplace garner enquiries in the studied period.
The homebuying sentiment in Gurgaon remained upbeat in Q4 2020. The festive period buoyancy and a host of schemes offered by developers accelerated the residential enquiries and thereby the conversions. A couple of well known schemes floating in the marketplace have been 30:70 payment facilities, PLC waivers and freebies such as no cost parking and indoor amenities.
While apartments continued to stay well known, builder floor also seized substantial demand amid the enhanced provide in the category by premium developers. Residential plots measuring one hundred-200 sq yards in the price tag variety of Rs 50 lakh- Rs 1.2 crore also witnessed some traction, especially in Faridabad.
Homebuying trend in Delhi continued to dwindle for the third quarter in the row in Oct-Dec 2020. The stalled redevelopment projects diminished the inventory provide in the city, leaving homebuyers with restricted selections. This, coupled with a lot of consumers awaiting the launch of DDA housing scheme in January 2021, trimmed the residential sales in Delhi in the quarter ending December 2020.
Resale properties in the elite locales of South and South West Delhi such as Vasant Kunj, Greater Kailash, New Friends Colony, and Defence Colony witnessed some enquiries as patrons have been prepared to leverage the decreased lending prices. Nevertheless, conversions remained low amid the sellers unwilling to trade-off at decrease asks and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) hiking the house tax by 2-5 %.