COVID-19: Housing sales to drop by 25-35%, office absorption by 13-30%
The 21-day lockdown to arrest the spread of the coronavirus has stalled all businesses across India. Housing sales across top seven property markets in India is likely to witness a 25-35% year-on-year drop in 2020, Economic Times reported. Absorption of office spaces is also likely to drop 15-30%.
In 2019, the top 7 cities witnessed 2.61 lakh residential units sales, which is poised to fall between 1.70 lakh -1.96 lakh units in 2020. Similarly, new launches may also see a 25-30% decline during the same period– from 2.37 lakh units in 2019 to anywhere between 1.66 lakh -1.78 lakh units, EconomicTimes quoted ANAROCK Property Consultants as saying.
However, unsold inventory in 2020 will largely remain stable, with single-digit annual decline of around 1-3%.
The affordable housing segment may also take a hit by COVID-19 becasue the pandemic will badly affect its target audience. With limited income and unemployment fears, buyers of affordable housing may defer purchase decisions, leading to an estimated 1-2% rise in unsold stock within this segment in 2020, ANAROCK said.
“Besides demand-supply decline in 2020, significant new trends will emerge across segments of Indian real estate. COVID-19 has derailed the office segment’s growth trajectory of last three years. New business models will be tried, making players more reliant on technology for ensuring business continuity,” ET quoted Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants as saying.
