Drop in price

There is some cheer for home buyers with the price of homes falling. According to a report from real state agency Cushman & Wakefield, there has been a price correction, with the average ticket prices of new launches across top eight cities. The decline is attributed to increased focus on apartments of smaller sizes and launch of projects at marginally lower price.

According to data in the report, Delhi-NCR saw a decline of 5 per cent in its ticket size to Rs 93 lakh in 2016 with all the segments witnessing a fall (See: Table). According to the report, in 2016, developers launched projects at relatively less-expensive locations in Noida and Greater Noida, in comparison to 2015 when launches were seen in more premium locations of Golf Course road and Golf Course extension road. The shift has resulted in a decline in the average launch price by 40 per cent at Rs 9,000 per square feet.

The fall in price is a result of a general slow take off in the demand for luxury homes and the changing demand for more compact and affordable homes. With the real estate regulations coming into play and tight liquidity after the demonetisation, the sector has faced with changes that are very different from what it has been through ever.

“The ticket values of new units being launched may see some change this year, as many developers are working on lowering these to increase the affordability of their units by either offering attractive prices or smaller units,” according to Anshul Jain, Managing Director India, Cushman & Wakefield. In projects where sales have been slow, developers are offering discounts.

Data from the report indicates that, overall, there was a fall in the number of new housing units by 11 per cent to approximately 1,13,000 units, of which the high-end segment was impacted the most. In contrast, the value housing category witnessed a rise in demand of 22 per cent or 36,300 units. The mood of the buyer is back to compact homes, even as real estate as an investment option finds less takers given the changing consumer preferences, taxation and halt in using black money in case of real estate transactions. If you are a prospective home buyer, there is plenty of choice to explore.

olmdesk@outlookindia.com