Housing sales may rise 30% in 2021; to remain below pre-COVID levels: Report

New Delhi: Housing sales are likely to rise by 30 per cent across seven major cities to nearly 1.8 lakh units in 2021, but demand will still be lower than the pre-COVID levels, according to property consultant Anarock.

According to Anarock research, housing sales are expected to increase 30 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 1,79,527 units across seven cities in 2021 from 1,38,344 units last year.

In 2019, housing sales stood at 2,61,358 units across seven cities — Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata.

The consultant also estimated sales to further rise in 2022 and 2023 to 2,64,625 and 3,17,550 units, respectively.

Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said: “The residential sector was showing healthy year-on-year growth since 2017 until the latest peak year of 2019, but this trajectory was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise, 2020 was expected to be a watershed year for the housing sector”.

While the second half of the year did showcase the remarkable resilience of the Indian residential real estate, a new bottom for the sector was created in 2020, he added.

“2020 is not a year that the industry is likely to forget very soon,” Puri said.

Anarock said the ongoing trend of sales exceeding supply is likely to continue.

“2021 is expected to witness an increase of 35 per cent in housing launches and a 30 per cent increase in sales over the previous year,” Anarock said.

When compared to 2019, supply and sales may be lower by 28 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively.

“The unprecedented rise in homeownership sentiment, faster adoption of technology and digital marketing, and innovative business practices have served to soften the overall impact of COVID-19 on the Indian residential sector,” the consultant said.

According to Anarock data, housing sales stood at 3,42,980 units in 2014; 3,08,250 units in 2015; 2,39,260 units in 2016; 2,11,143 units in 2017 and 2,48,311 units in 2018.