The consumer demand is coming to the rescue of the economy, and residential real estate has been among the key sectors to witness a return of interest among home buyers after the lifting of the lockdown, with sales number increasing significantly.

Housing sales across the seven top realty markets doubled during the July-September quarter.

Data showed that sales or absorption of housing units increased by 104% across the cities in the third quarter of 2020 to 50,983 units versus 24,936 units in the previous quarter. Thus, there is “definitely a revival”.

“Property registration data for the month of September says it all. Recovering from the effects of the pandemic-induced lockdowns, buyer sentiment is on the uptick”. Low interest rates and offers given by developers are the reasons for the return of demand.

“The other side is, owning a house turning into a ‘prime need’ in the aftermath of the pandemic. Demand for spacious homes with additional flexi space has registered a surge, especially in the ‘ready to move in’ category. The incentives by the Government of India for first time home buyers have had a positive effect”.

Not just sales, supplies also increased during the July-September quarter. The new supply or launches of housing units also increased by 126 per cent during the same period to 38,131 units from 16,808 units in Q2 2020 as developers launched several projects post the lockdown.

As a result of the rise in sales, the inventory declined to 2 per cent to 7.96 lakhs.

Delhi NCR witnessed 295 per cent home sales growth in Q32020 versus Q2 2020 while other cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, MMR and Pune clocked 86 per cent, 131 per cent, 159 per cent, 89 per cent, 70 per cent and 72 per cent growth respectively.

Property Consultants convey that the revival in the housing segment is being driven primarily by end-users.