India housing market sees sharper divergence across cities, price band

India’s residential market is witnessing a widening divergence across cities and price segments, with demand holding steady across most major markets while NCR sees a moderation and higher-ticket homes continue to gain share. The trend points to a market that is becoming more selective, even as overall housing demand remains resilient.

Residential sales across eight key markets stood at 258,238 units during January-September, broadly in line with the same period last year, showed Knight Frank India data. Developers launched 279,899 units during the period, registering a growth of 4%, with launches exceeding sales for the 16th consecutive quarter.

“India’s residential market is entering a more discerning phase, in which the quality and relevance of supply will matter as much as the strength of demand. The shift towards higher ticket sizes and a gradual rise in quarters to sell show that buyers are becoming more selective, pointing to normalisation rather than a broad-based slowdown,” said


Shishir Baijal, International Partner, CMD, Knight Frank India.

Mumbai remained the largest residential market by volume, recording 72,804 units of sales during the period, up 1%. Bengaluru followed with 43,140 units, registering 5% growth, while Pune recorded 36,402 units, unchanged from the year-earlier period.

“The market is moving towards a more mature phase where project positioning, execution capability and the ability to offer differentiated products will increasingly influence buyer decisions. Developers with strong balance sheets and established delivery track records are well placed to navigate this transition. We expect end-user confidence to remain intact, particularly in locations supported by employment growth, infrastructure creation and improving connectivity,” said Shekhar Patel, national president of developers’ body CREDAI.

Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata also recorded positive sales trends, with volumes rising between 2% and 4% on year. Kolkata recorded the highest growth at 4%, followed by Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai at 2% each.

NCR was the only market to record a decline in sales, with 35,574 homes sold during nine months, down 11% year-on-year. The moderation was concentrated in the Rs 5-10 crore segment, where sales declined 39% year-on-year to 4,033 units, compared with 5,002 units launched. Gurugram accounted for the bulk of this correction and represented 57% of NCR’s unsold inventory.

The divergence was also evident across price categories, with the market continuing to move towards higher-ticket housing. Homes priced above Rs 1 crore accounted for 55% of total residential sales, up from 50% a year ago. The Rs 1-2 crore segment emerged as the largest category, accounting for 77,087 units, or 30% of total sales, and registering 6.8% growth.

The Rs 2-5 crore segment recorded the strongest growth among the major price categories, with sales rising 19.4% to 51,501 units. Bengaluru led the segment with 12,965 units, while Chennai recorded the highest growth at 54%.

At the lower end, sales of homes priced below Rs 50 lakhs stood at 47,660 units, declining 14% and accounting for 18% of total residential sales. The Rs 50 lakh-1 crore segment recorded sales of 69,380 units, down 5.9%.

According to Baijal, as the benefit of lower interest rates moderates, income growth, relevant new supply and local demand drivers will shape the next phase of growth across India’s leading cities.

Quarters to sell rose to 6.1 in July-September period from 5.8 quarters a year ago, marking its fourth consecutive quarterly increase and the highest level since the second quarter of 2023. The metric remains below the seven to eleven quarters recorded between 2018 and 2021.

Residential prices increased across these markets during the quarter. Outside NCR and Bengaluru, annual price growth ranged between 3% and 6%, while Bengaluru recorded 11% on-year growth. Mumbai recorded a 5% increase.