Last year Pune’s residential real estate market saw the best sales since 2013 despite a 7 per cent year-on-year rise in prices. The annual real estate report issued by property consultant Knight Frank, released on Tuesday, showed the city had recorded sales of 43,410 units in 2022, which the report said was a rise of 17 per cent from the previous year.
The year 2022 was good for the real estate industry given its poor record in 2020 and 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic slowdown had seen the real estate industry reeling for two years as home buyers decided to play cautious in the face of economic hardships. However, the pent-up demand saw the industry bounce back last year. The major trend noticed by the industry is the demand for bigger apartments.
Vilas P Menon, national director, occupier services, capital markets and Pune branch head of Knight Frank India, said, “The Pune residential market has recorded substantial growth over the last two years. With the return-to-office trend catching up, residential spaces near key employments are expected to see a rise in sales momentum. Even while Pune is a price-sensitive market for residential properties, as it is largely end-user driven, the recent rise in demand is based on consumer confidence, financial consistence and overall economic growth.”
In its report, the firm said a sizeable number of the homebuyers were from the salaried class who remained undeterred despite the recent rise in repo rates and home interest rates. Most of the sales, the report said, were in the south, east and west zones of the city. Sales for 2022 were equally distributed in both halves with the first half of the year recording 21,613 units as compared to 21,247 units in the second half.
The robust sales have been recorded even as realtors pass on the increased raw material cost to the buyer. Knight Frank’s survey showed a 7 per cent rise in prices per square feet on a year-on-year basis. Most of the sales were in the ticket size between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore. This range accounted for 40 per cent of the sales in the first half of 2021 and accounted for 45 per cent of the sales in the first half of 2022.
Sales in the below Rs 50 lakh ticket size showed a decline. “This change in share contribution can be attributed to an overall rise in the price of products. INR 10mn properties also recorded an increase in share take up from 8% in H1 2022 to 9% H2 2022,” the report said.
While sales continued on a positive note, new launches saw a slight 5 per cent decline in 2022. Last year 38,640 units were launched in the city.
