Indian property buyers eye off-plan projects as branded developers dominate the market: Report

The share of off-plan unit sales was below 26 percent in pre-pandemic 2019, as buyers preferred ready-to-move in houses because of perennial issues of long delays in project completion, leading to significant cost escalation.

South Indian cities drive property launch uptake

South Indian cities of Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad saw the highest levels of absorption of new launches at 58 percent, 51 percent and 50 percent, respectively, while the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) saw the lowest new project launch absorption at 27 percent, Anarock said.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock, said the fact that 40 percent of newly launched housing stock has already been sold across the top cities strongly underscores increasing homebuyer confidence in new projects.

“Ready homes became the biggest draw amid project delays in the past, but the trend is now changing,” he said.

Puri attributed the reason for the current shift to the increasing market share of financially strong branded developers with sound completion track records in the last 2-3 years.

“An increasing number of homebuyers are reposing their faith in these players, and newly launched projects are steadily gaining traction. These players have recorded very healthy sales since the pandemic, thanks to a stronger focus on market research,” he said.

The Anarock study also pointed out that in contrast to earlier years, developers are now launching projects that dovetail with actual demand.

“Their focus on good locations and appropriate unit sizes and configurations is very obvious,” it said, adding that several leading developers are snapping up land parcels across key cities to develop residential projects that are aligned with what customers want.

“With developers now carefully analysing and calibrating supply and ticket sizes, we are unlikely to see mistakes from the past being repeated,” Puri said.