Despite the devastating second wave of COVID-19, the residential real estate sector in India has staged a comeback in 2021. Data by property consultants Anarock showed that housing sales rose 71% year-on-year in 2021 with approximately 2.37 lakh units sold, thus reaching 90% of pre-COVID 2019 levels. Hyderabad recorded a 197% increase in sales from 8,560 units in 2020 to 25,410 in 2021 and also registered a rise of 144% in new launches, adding around 51,470 units in 2021 over 2020.
Bengaluru saw sales increase by 33% — from 24,910 units in 2020 to 33,080 units in 2021, while Chennai saw an 86% increase in sales — from 6,740 units in 2020 to 12,530 units in 2021.
The data further revealed that new launches rose by 85% annually in 2021 over 2020. Bengaluru added around 30,650 units in 2021, an increase of 43% over 2020. About 72% of the new supply was added in the mid and premium segments. Chennai added around 12,370 units in 2021, an increase of 35% over 2020. About 62% of the new supply was added in sub-Rs 80 lakh budget segments.
MMR recorded the highest sales at 76,400 units, followed by NCR with approx. 40,050 units sold. Of approx. 2.37 lakh units launched in 2021, the mid-segment (Rs 40 lakh to Rs 80 lakh) had the maximum share with 39%, followed by the affordable segment (priced under Rs 40 lakh) with a 26% share. The premium segment (priced between Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore) had a 25% share.
Increased launches and overall absorption in the top seven cities in 2021, when compared to 2020, resulted in minor changes in available inventory. However, compared to 2019, there has been a 2% reduction in available inventory by the end of 2021, the data showed. Average residential property prices across the top cities increased by 3-5% in 2021 compared to 2020.
“Despite the pandemic, 2021 was a fantastic year for the Indian housing sector. More or less an equal number of homes were launched and sold. The fact that launches were back to pre-COVID levels is very significant, and housing sales fell short of 2019 by a mere 10%. Of the four quarters, Q4 2021 was by far the best, with housing sales in the top 7 cities attaining a new high of approx. 90,860 units in Q4 2021. This was the highest quarterly sales performance since 2015,” said Anuj Puri, Chairman of the Anarock Group. “Extrapolating on the performance in 2021, 2022 will see very satisfactory growth as long as the coronavirus pandemic remains in check in India," he added.