Housing prices up 11.3% in Delhi-ncr

GURUGRAM: Housing prices in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) saw the highest surge among eight Indian metro cities in 2021-22, even as prices in Bengaluru and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) largely remained stable, showed a report released by industry body Credai.

Average housing prices across the country rose 4%, showed the report, released on Tuesday. In comparison, this number in Delhi-ncr was nearly triple, at 11.3%.

Prices in Bengaluru and MMR increased only 1%.

The report, Housing Price Tracker 2022, indicated that buyers preferred ready-tomove-in projects as compared to those under construction, particularly in all micro-markets in Gurugram.

Developers and real estate dealers in the city also said the market had recovered after the bruising impact of the pandemic, largely due to end-users buying ready-to-move-in projects.

To be sure, housing prices have surged globally due to general price inflation as well as the ongoing Russia-ukraine war.

Credai (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India) conducted its study in Delhi-ncr, MMR, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

The report showed that despite a rise in the prices of raw materials, there has been a pickup in housing demand, which has led to an increase in housing prices in 2021-22.

The study was conducted by Credai, Colliers (a private consultancy) and Liases Foras, a real estate data analytics firm.

Officials from Colliers said there was a marked difference between prices of under-construction and ready-to-move-in properties across markets.

For example, in micro-markets within Gurugram, such as Golf Course Road (GCR), Golf Course Extension Road and Sohna Road, ready-to-move-in properties were between 27% and 53% more expensive than under construction ones.

Kamaljit Singh, vice-president, Bestech, a Gurugrambased developer, confirmed that most buyers prefer ready-tomove-in projects.

“There is also strong demand for plots and floors. The major reason for these trends is that people want to be sure that they get what they pay for...,” he said.

“End-users have faith in the market, and we expect credible developers to see higher sales this year as end-users are discerning about the reputation of the developer. There can be a meaningful increase in prices over the next 6-9 months in the range of 5-10%, across most markets,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO, India, Colliers.

Harsh Vardhan Patodia, president of Credai National, said that the reduction in import duties on steel products, iron ore, and steel intermediaries, will cool off the prices of steel products, and help tide the rise in prices of projects, strengthening consumer sentiment.