Housing sales in India hits 10 year high record in 2024 : Knight Frank report Estimates

The real estate market in India showed strong performance in the first half of this year, as housing sales reached a peak of 173,000 units and office space demand surged to an all-time high of 34.7 million square feet in eight key cities, as reported by Knight Frank.

Annually, the housing sales rose 11% to 1,73,241 units while leasing of office space grew 33% to 34.7 million square feet during January-June this year across eight major cities. 

The Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, Shishir Baijal has quoted, "India's real estate market has been buoyant in the last few quarters owing to the strong economic fundamentals and stable socio-political conditions." 

He also added that, the residential and office segments have recorded decadal-high numbers. He also highlighted that, the premium housing formed 34% of all sales in the first half of 2024.

He also added, "Concurrently, India's status as one of the fastest-growing large economies has positively impacted office demand. India faces businesses and GCCs taking the lead positions in transactions. Based on our expectation of continued stability in the socio-economic and political conditions and the current trajectory of growth, we anticipate a strong finish to the year 2024 with both residential and commercial office transactions noting record highs."

From January to June 2024, the housing sales in Mumbai increased 16% annually to 47,259 units while leasing of office space in the city surged 79% to 5.8 million square feet.

Delhi-NCR witnessed that, housing sales declined 4% to 28,998 units, but office space demand grew 11.5% to 5.7 million square feet. Bengaluru faced a 4% growth in housing sales to 27,404 units and a 21 per cent rise in office demand to 8.4 million square feet. Similarly, in Pune the sales of housing increased 13% to 24,525 units while leasing of office space rose 88 per cent to 4.4 million square feet.

On the other hand, Chennai saw 12% growth in sales of residential properties to 7,975 units, but the city witnessed a 33% fall in office demand to 3 million square feet. In Hyderabad the housing sales rose up 21% to 18,573 units, while the office demand soared 71% to 5 million square feet.

In Kolkata,the housing sale increased 25% and it recorded 9,130 units. It also saw 23% growth in leasing of office space to 0.7 million square feet, and in Ahmedabad the sales of residential properties during Jan-June rose 17% annually to 9,377 units. The office space leasing jumped multi-fold to 1.7 million square feet.

Pradeep Aggarwal, Chairman of Signature Global, based in Gurugram,stated that, the demand for properties across various segments, from mid-range to luxury, remains strong across the country. Fueled by rapid infrastructure development, Gurugram is likely to hold onto its leading position as the foremost residential market in the NCR. Developers are strategically launching new projects to harness this demand, thereby facilitating the introduction of fresh supply into the market. Areas like Southern Peripheral Road and Dwarka Expressway will continue to attract home buyers. Overall, the outlook for residential real estate looks very positive and we expect the demand to be robust for all kinds of properties.

The Founder & CEO, Property First Realty, Bhavesh Kothari said, "The growing desire for homeownership among potential buyers and steady mortgage rates that help home buyers plan their finances well in advance are majorly driving this growth trend."

Moreover, he said, the positive buyer sentiment and the rising tide of NRI investment in India's residential sector are also instilling confidence in developers.