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Sales of 2&3BHK homes are picking up in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad
Real-estate developers and consultants have been claiming that one bedroom-hall-kitchen (1BHK) homes were the best-selling product during the July-September 2009 quarter. But this trend does not seem to be playing out in Tier I cities. According to data from real-estate research firm Liases Foras, sales of two- and three-BHK homes are on the rise in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.
“In these six cities, 2 & 3BHK homes have reported more sales than 1BHK homes; 1BHK is no longer driving sales for developers,” said Pankaj Kapoor, founder and chief executive officer, Liases Foras.
During the second quarter to September 2009, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) reported sales of 1,33,416 2BHK units, 5,855 3BHK units and 45,625 1BHK units. In the National Capital Region (NCR), 2BHK sales were 29,838 units, 3BHK sales were 4,932 units and 1BHK sales were at just 1,446 units. Similarly, in Pune, 2BHK sales were 10,843 units while 3BHK and 1BHK sales were 63,008 and 20,108 units, respectively.
The trend is slightly different in Hyderabad where 1&2BHKs are driving the market. The city reported sales of 27,055 2BHK units, 24,966 1BHK units and 1,879 3BHK units. In Chennai and Bengaluru, 3BHK was the top-selling category. Chennai reported sales of 79,756 3BHK units while Bengaluru reported sales of 24,201 3BHK units. In the 2BHK category, Bengaluru reported sales of 19,705 units and Chennai reported sales of 59,047 units.
Developers will be keenly tracking the ongoing uptrend in the 2&3BHK segments. “This kind of data will help us to know which segment is reporting more sales, so we can design products and increase our supply accordingly,” said Niranjan Hiranandani, chairman of Hiranandani Constructions.
At the end of the September 2009 quarter, Chennai reported an inventory of 550,821 3BHK units and 321,984 2BHK units. Bengaluru had an inventory of 35,922 3BHK units and 212,887 2BHK units. NCR had an inventory of 3,31,023 3BHK units and 2,03,519 2BHK units. Hyderabad had an inventory of 2,88,771 3BHK units and 3,69,369 2BHK units. Pune had an inventory of 25,442 3BHK units and 3,65,017 2BHK units. MMR had an inventory of 3,04,344 3BHK units and 61.8196 2BHK units.
The improving market sentiment has reportedly prompted a few developers to increase prices by 5%-10%. However, they seemed to have learned a fundamental lesson during the economic slowdown of the past 18 months: that a sharp increase in prices is counter-productive.
— Pallabika Ganguly [email protected]
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