Housing sales dip by 42% in NCR, 34% in Mumbai in January-August 2012

NEW DELHI: Housing sales fell by 42 per cent in the national capital region during the first eight months of 2012 calendar year and developers are looking at offloading their housing stocks in the festival season, according to realty research firm PropEquity.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Bangalore markets, too, witnessed drop in absorption of housing units at 34 per cent and three per cent, respectively, during January-August period of 2012 compared with the year-ago period.

PropEquity, the real estate data analytics and research firm, attributed the fall in absorption in these markets to lack of demand from investors in the uncertain economic situation. It, however, said that end-user demand is there.

"In a research conducted for the first eight months (January to August, 2012) of the calendar year 2012, the total absorption in NCR is 47,363 units, a 42 per cent drop from last year figures.

"The new launches also took place at a slackened pace during these eight months at just 55,001 units," PropEquity said in a statement.

The ray of hope for developers is the festive season period between September to December which is generally associated with high sales, it added.

"The major impact of the current economic uncertainty has been reflected in investor driven markets. However, end-user driven markets have not been affected so badly," said Gaurav Pandey, Senior Vice President & Head - Research and Consulting.

Mumbai absorbed 45,049 units during January-August 2012 against 68,740 housing units in the corresponding period of the last year. In Bangalore, sales dropped to 24,734 units from 25,460 units during the period under review.