Knight Frank Report: NCR witnessed a 45% rise in new residential launches in 2019.

According to the London-based real estate consultancy Knight Frank annual report, Housing sales in Delhi-NCR saw 5% YOY growth and new residential launches increased by 45% in 2019 compared to 2018.

The report stated that the period from 2016 to 2019 was the transitional period, when policy changes such as the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 and the Goods and Services Tax Act (GST), coupled with the crisis of NBFC, stepped up the new launch in the NCR.

“The stable volume of sales for the residential market is a positive signal for NCR. The growth of new projects bears witness to the fact that, contrary to 2010-2011, developers across the region carefully assess demand and focus on the completion of projects at hand, rather than the launching of new ones,” said Executive Director of Knight Frank India, Mudassir Zaidi.

According to the report, around 57% of the new units were concentrated in Gurugram and Greater Noida in 2019. The largest share in NCR (35%) in 2019 was accounted by Gurugram, with an increase from 2% to 7,947 units; while 22% share of Greater Noida (5,058 units); and the 21% share (4,901 units) from Noida were identified.

The sector shows price resistance in 2019, with weighted average values staying unmoved in 2019. Developers also recognize the slow sales velocity and kept a lid on any price increase. Ready-to-move-in properties in the current market scenario have been most sought after. However, in the long run, the return of buyer confidence on the market will be significant when the current ready-to-move-in inventory is depleted,” added Zaidi.

A modest 4% YOY increase to Rs 4,431 sq. ft. was observed in the weighted average NCR prices in H2 2019, indicating a muted market pricing environment.