2022 sees highest ever residential sales in 10 years

MUMBAI: Despite an increase in property prices and home loan rates in 2022, residential real estate sales touched the highest ever sales peak, over a 10-year period, said data released by leading real estate research firms, Anarock and Liases Foras on Tuesday.

Anarock’s research report said approximately 3,64,900 residential units were sold in 2022 compared to 2,36,500 units across the top seven cities, marking an increase of 54 per cent year on year. It said the figure breached the last peak seen in 2014 when 3.43 lakh units were sold across the top seven cities.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) had the largest share of approximately 1,09,700 units in 2022, followed by National Capital Region (NCR) with approximately 63,700 units. Similarly, the new launches also saw a 51 per cent rise from 2,36,700 units in 2021 to nearly 3,57,600 new units in 2022, with MMR witnessing the maximum new launches this year, the Anarock report said.

Liases Foras, an independent non-broking real estate research company, estimated that 4,06,163 residential units were sold in 2022 based on projections in the last three quarters which was higher than the last peak of 3,79,428 units seen in 2019.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Group, said, “2022 has been a phenomenal year for residential real estate despite all headwinds including rising property prices, interest rate hikes and geopolitical tensions. While it was widely anticipated that the rise in property costs and interest rates towards the second half of 2022 would have a cascading impact on the residential sales, Q4 2022 remained quite robust with as many as 92,160 units sold in the period.”

According to Anarock report, MMR recorded sales of approximately 1,09,800 units in 2022, an annual increase of 44 per cent over 76,396 units sold in 2021.

The unsold inventory in residential sector stood at 12,38,058 units, out of which 8,78,871 units or 71 per cent were in marketable condition, and 3,59,187 units were stalled, according to Liases Foras data. Out of the stalled units, NCR accounted for 89, 209 units or 25 per cent, and MMR accounted for 81,145 units or 23 per cent.

The real estate industry is however, cautious about 2023. Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, National Vice Chairman, NAREDCO, said “The sustained home-buying demand buoyancy may dip if interest rates cross the upper tolerance limit of 9.5 per cent, leading to demand contractions. The confidence index of key stakeholders comprising homebuyers, investors, institutional lenders and developers remains upbeat despite economic vagaries.”

Forecasting the trends in 2023, Puri said, “The appetite for homeownership has remained undeterred, with maximum sales being driven by the end-users. However, various risks loom large around the residential segment. A lot will depend on how the home loan interest rates pan out over the next year.” He said the ready-to-move-in inventory will continue to top buyer demand but demand for new launches is expected to also gain momentum. “This is largely because the new supply in the market will continue to be dominated by the large and listed developers in the new year. There is a sense of confidence among the buyers for these developers and hence they will continue to perform well and see significant sales, just as they did in 2022.”