Housing sales in Delhi-ncr up 7%; new supply dips 6% during Jan-sep Govt may appoint new CEA in next 1-2 months

NEW DELHI: Housing sales in the Delhi-ncr market increased by 7 per cent while new supply declined by 6 per cent in the January-september period of this calendar year as developers focus on clearing unsold inventories, according to property consultant Anarock.

The Delhi-ncr, a major property market in the country, saw sales of 31,550 units during January-september 2018 as against 29,400 units in the corresponding period of the previous year.

However, new launches fell by 6 per cent to 17,225 units from 18,400 units during the period under review, showed data compiled by Anarock.

Anuj Puri, founder and chairman of Anarock, said the launches might increase during the current quarter to meet higher demand during the ongoing festival season.

In seven big cities, the consultant said that housing sales rose by 8 per cent to 1,78,400 units during January-september 2018.

The new supply also rose by 18 per cent to 1,39,700 units till September 2018 as property markets of three key cities in South India — Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai — saw a healthy launches.

The consultant tracks NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune markets. NEW DELHI: The government is likely to appoint a new chief economic advisor (CEA) in the next one or two months, sources said. A search committee appointed by the finance ministry is expected to finalise the list of suitable candidates soon and appointment is likely in 1-2 months, they said further.

The government on June 30 invited applications for the appointment of CEA on deputation basis after Arvind Subramanian quit the office ahead of completion of his term.

The finance ministry has appointed a search committee headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan to shortlist candidates for the post. Other members of the panel are economic affairs secretary and department of personnel training secretary.

Subramanian was appointed as CEA on October 16, 2014, for a 3-year term and was given an extension last year. His official contract was till May 2019.