Property prices surge in 43 cities in Q4 FY23; down in 7: NHB

All 8 major metros of the country -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune -- witnessed appreciation in property prices during the January-March quarter of 2022-23, the Housing Price Index (HPI) published by National Housing Bank shows.

Overall of the 50 biggest cities covered, 43 registered an increase in property prices whereas 7 cities registered a decline in property prices. “The home loan rates are still lower than the pre-pandemic rates leading to a healthy affordability overall,” NHB says.

India’s eight key primary residential markets witnessed appreciating property prices during the January-March 2023 period. Ahmedabad (10.8%), Bengaluru (9.4%), Chennai (6.8%), Delhi (1.7%), Hyderabad (7.9%), Kolkata (11.0%), Mumbai (3.1%) & Pune (8.2%) recorded an increase in the index on an annual basis.

The index recorded an increase in 42 cities out of 50 cities with Gurugram recording the highest sequential increase of 5.3%. Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Kochi, Coimbatore, Raipur, Faridabad, Bidhan Nagar, & New Town Kolkata recorded a sequential decline in the HPI Housing Price Index-based assessment price during the quarter. Raipur recorded a maximum decline of 6.7% due to projects launched by Raipur Municipal Corporation for the EWS and LIG Category.

The 50 city HPI based on valuation prices of properties collected from banks and housing finance companies (HPI @ assessment prices) recorded an annual increase (Y-o-Y) of 5.8% during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 as compared with 5.3% a year ago.

The annual change in HPI @ assessment price varied widely across the cities – ranging from an increase of 19.6% (Gandhinagar) to a decline of 12.9% (Ludhiana).

On a sequential (Q-o-Q) basis, the 50-city index registered an expansion of 1.3% in January-March 2023 as against 1.5% in the previous quarter. The index showed an increasing trend on a Q-o-Q basis since June-21, the data shows.

On the supply side, the 50 city housing price index based on the quoted prices for under-construction and ready-to-move unsold properties also recorded an annual increase (Y-o-Y) of 11.7% in QE March 2023 as against 4.8% a year ago.

The quoted prices witnessed an increase driven by the partial pass-on of the increased input cost coupled with increased demand in ready-to-move-in properties, more so in the affordable segment, shows the data. The annual variation in housing price index-based market price ranged from an increase of 47.6% (Lucknow) to a contraction of 4.1% (Rajkot & Panvel).

On a sequential (Q-o-Q) basis, the 50-city index saw an increase of 2.6% during the quarter compared to 3.1% in the previous quarter.

In terms of overall housing sales in 2022-23, the data released by private real estate consulting company Anarock shows housing sales in India surged 48% year-on-year to ₹3.47 lakh crore during the financial year 2022-23, thanks to higher volumes and better price realisation.