Despite all these upheavals and market realignments in the past three years, India's housing market remained remarkably resilient and even thrived. However, there seems to have been one major 'fatality' - affordable housing. Once the source of considerable political hype, this segment is not merely just languishing today - it seems to be in the ICU. What happened?
An analysis of buyer behaviour in the top seven cities in the last fiscal year FY21-22 shows that nearly 80% of demand is for mid-end and high-end homes, with the affordable housing segment accounting for a mere 10% of the demand.
As of Q1 2022-end, the total available stock of affordable housing (<INR 40 lakh) in the top 7 cities is approx. 1,86,150 units; 2,34,600 units at Q1 2020-end
Chennai, Pune & MMR saw the highest supply decline of 52%, 33% & 27%, respectively
Supply of ultra-luxury homes (>INR 2.5 Cr) declined 5% in the same period – from approx. 41,750 units in Q1 2020-end to approx. 39,810 units by Q1 2022-end; MMR & Kolkata shed maximum ultra-luxury stock of 16% & 15%, respectively
Mid segment housing saw a 4% decline – from 1,97,880 units in Q1 2020-end to 1,89,310 units by Q1 2022-end
Premium & luxury homes (INR 80 lakh to INR 2.5 Cr) unsold stock increased in the same period
Mumbai, 19 April 2022: While the new supply of affordable housing has been shrinking over the last two pandemic years, demand remains healthy. ANAROCK data reveals that out of the total unsold stock across the top 7 cities, affordable housing inventory saw the most significant decline of 21% – from 2,34,600 units by Q1 2020-end to 1,86,150 units by Q1 2022-end.
2020 kick-started a trend reversal wherein larger homes - spacious enough to accommodate home offices and online study spaces for children - began to be in higher demand
Union Budget 2021-22 was broad-based with special emphasis on building robust healthcare infrastructure, physical infrastructure and affordable housing. It will result in job creation in the informal sector, which was severely impacted by the pandemic
As we usher in our 74th year of independence, there is still a long way to go. And yet, despite the various upheavals to date, the foundation upon which to build a stronger and more inclusive industry has never been stronger.
Wellness amenities such as yoga studios, meditation rooms, spas, gymnasiums, tennis courts and jogging tracks became the new rage among urban homebuyers.
Among the factors contributing to the escalating claustrophobia effect of shrinking apartment sizes, demand for affordable homes in metros tops the list.
The hard facts of declining consumption and a deepening economic slowdown in India are inescapable, and real estate has been severely impacted by them. To this gloomy backdrop, the RBI’s repo rate cut of 35 bps to 5.4% announced in the latest monetary policy is obviously welcome.
This rate cut, the fourth consecutive cut since February 2019, is meant to boost consumer sentiments once commercial banks transmit the benefits to actual consumers.
For real estate, a rate cut of 35 bps is however insufficient to significantly improve buyer sentiment in the mid-income segment, which still has a staggering unsold inventory of 2.17 lakh units in the top seven cities. On the other hand, demand for affordable housing, which accounted for 2.40 lakh unsold units in these cities, may see improvement as this highly budget-sensitive segment already has the benefit of other incentives.
Even minor downward revisions in interest rates can and do make a difference in affordable housing. If banks transmit this reduction in the prime lending rate to consumers, budget housing demand may improve. Likewise, housing demand in tier 2 and tier 3 cities,
