"Luxury Housing demand in NCR & Mumbai to be closely Monitored"- Knight Frank India

Two distinct areas of stress in the Indian real estate market have been identified by Gulam Zia, Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank India.

He raised concerns about luxury housing in the National Capital Region (NCR), where demand has to be closely watched.

"The only market where sales volumes have decreased by roughly 4-5% from 2023 to now is the NCR market. That is the only market where we anticipated sales to soar past 60,000, but it is the only one that has stayed at 57,000 or so, marginally less," he stated, cautioning against complacency in the area.

Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 crore housing segments in Mumbai is experiencing an oversupply problem, with inventory levels so high that it will take more than five years to clear.

"It's concerning that the Mumbai market's Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 crore segments have roughly five and a half years of inventory," Zia said.

He linked this strain to an imbalance in supply and demand caused by an increase in new product launches in recent years.

However, he noted that there are very few new inventories entering the market, which is hurting the very bottom end of the market, or affordable housing.

Zia advised real estate investors to concentrate on purchasing property in regions that will gain from infrastructure development. "Buy land if you want to invest," he advised, citing areas close to major cities like Panvel and Alibag in the Mumbai region, which are experiencing significant improvements in connectivity.

Appreciation is anticipated to increase in these areas as a result of projects like the Atal Setu and new port developments.