Housing sales dip 7% in Q1 as Middle East war weighs

New Delhi: Housing sales during the January-March quarter dipped by 7% across the top seven cities compared with the October-December quarter, as the ongoing Middle East war impacted the Indian real estate market.

According to Anarock data, 1,01,675 units worth ₹1.51 lakh crore were sold in Q1 2026 in the top seven cities, in contrast to 1,08,970 units worth ₹1.60 lakh crore in Q4 2025.

However, given the low housing sales base in the corresponding period last year, Q1 2026 marked a 7% annual rise in sales across the top seven cities. With 4,04,005 units sold in FY26, the numbers are the lowest since FY23.


"While India's residential segment's long-term fundamentals remain strong, the short-term tremors of the Iran war were clearly visible in the first quarter. The 7% dip in sales tracks the war-induced uncertainty, with sentiment and sales clearly affected by surging oil and construction prices-particularly in March. The decline also aligns with large numbers of prospective Middle Eastern homebuyers, who invest significantly in Indian real estate, hitting the pause button under the war cloud," said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Group.

City-wise, MMR and Bengaluru accounted for 48% of total sales in this quarter. Interestingly, Chennai recorded the highest (18%) quarterly drop in housing sales, but also saw the highest yearly gain of 31%.

Meanwhile, new launches across the top seven cities saw limited quarterly growth of 2% in Q1 2026 compared with the previous quarter, and a 26% yearly rise-from 1,23,835 units in Q4 2025 to 1,26,265 units in Q1 2026 and over one lakh units in Q1 2025. MMR and Bengaluru saw the maximum new supply in Q1 2026, accounting for 51% of the total new launches across the top seven cities.

While MMR saw new supply increase by 6% on a quarterly basis, Bengaluru saw a 7% jump in the period. Chennai, NCR, Kolkata, and Pune saw a quarterly decline in new supply-by 28%, 17%, 10%, and 9%, respectively. The other cities saw quarterly increases in new launches, with Hyderabad recording the highest 46% quarterly supply rise. Following the significant jump in new launches in the quarter, available inventory in the top 7 cities increased by 4% quarterly and 7% annually-from 5,76,620 units by the end of Q4 2025 to 6,01,210 units as of the end of Q1 2026. Among the top cities, Bengaluru saw the highest quarterly rise of 12% in its unsold stock, followed by Hyderabad with a 7% rise.

"Another key trend this quarter is that new launches have started outpacing sales, reversing the post-pandemic pattern when sales were usually higher. As a result, unsold inventory has increased 4% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year, with total stock across the top 7 cities now above 6 lakh units," said Puri.

Average residential property prices across the top 7 cities largely saw single-digit increases in the last one year, with the notable exception of NCR, which recorded double-digit price growth ranging between 4-15% in Q1 2026 compared with Q1 2025.