Real Estate Slump Worsens Amid COVID-19 Pandemic: Sales Drop By 62% In Delhi/NCR

The real estate sector has been the worst hit by the pandemic in the first nine months of this year, with nationwide sales from January to September falling by 43% as compared to the same period last year, according to a report by property consultants Anarock.

According to the Anarock report, total value of property sold in the last nine months in the seven top cities sampled for the study — Bengaluru, NCR as a collective, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and MMR- stood at Rs 88,730 crore as compared to Rs 1,54,320 crore in the corresponding period of 2019.

But in NCR the slump was even worse. The total sales for the period was worth only Rs 9,430 crore as compared to nearly Rs 24,860 crore in 2019, marking a 62% drop in sales. Gurgaon sold units worth just Rs 3,800 crore in 2020 as compared to Rs 10,136 crore in 2019, and is the worst hit among NCR cities. Similarly, Noida’s sales climbed down from Rs 3,899 crore last year to Rs 1,519 crore this year and Greater Noida—from Rs 5,723 crore in 2019 to Rs 2,066 crore in 2020, the Times of India mentioned in a report citing Anarock.

In Ghaziabad sales plunged to Rs 1,055 crore in 2020 as compared to Rs 2,845 crore in the corresponding period of 2019. Other cities like Faridabad, Delhi and Bhiwadi have also been clustered in the NCR. Delhi’s sales have reduced from Rs 1,364 crore in 2019 to only Rs 655 crore this year, the daily mentioned.

However, within the pandemic there were some encouring signs. According to the Anarock data, sales in NCR rose nearly 200% in the second quarter of this financial year — July, August September — as compared to the first quarter. Sales figures in July-September of 2020 shot up to Rs 3,246 crore as compared to Rs 1,263 crore in April-June quarter. While Gurgaon builders had sold only Rs 467 crore worth sales between April and June this year, it shot up to Rs 1,371 crore worth sales in the second quarter. Noida sales shot up from just a Rs 191 crore sale in the first quarter of this fiscal to about Rs 483 crore in July-September.

In Greater Noida too, sales figures shot up from Rs 271 crore in April-June to Rs 694 crore worth sales in July-September. Ghaziabad sales figures also shot up from Rs 165 crore in the first quarter to Rs 332 crore in the second one.

The ToI report quoted Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock, as saying, “As was to be expected, April to June sales was lacklustre given the lockdown and overall pressures on the economy. What is remarkable is how the next quarter stacked up, clearly indicating that buyer sentiment was in place and merely held at bay by uncertainty. Based on these results, there is now every reason to look at this festive season with confidence — homebuyers are back.”

“This return of sentiment, coupled with various festive offers and with attractive financial schemes, will produce a marked uptick. Between January and September 2020, as many as 87,460 units were sold across the top seven cities as against 2.02 lakh units sold a year ago. The upcoming festive quarter will very probably see home sales values go up on the back of increased demand,” Puri added.

(Source: ET Times Now)