New supply of affordable homes – priced up to Rs60 lakh each – declined 38% across eight major cities to 33,420 units during January-March this year, with builders focusing on developing luxury flats, according to PropEquity.Real estate data analytic firm PropEquity attributed the fall in new supply to sharp rise in land and construction costs, which has made development of affordable housing projects less profitable or unviable.According to PropEquity data, the fresh supply of such homes was 33,420 units during January-March 2024 across top eight cities against 53,818 in the year-ago period.These eight cities are – Delhi-NCR, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad.PropEquity data showed that the new supply in this price category fell 20% during the 2023 calendar year and the declining trend continued in the first quarter of this year as well.”The number of affordable housing units launched in the top eight cities of the country has seen a significant decline. In 2023, only 179,103 units priced under βΉ60 lakh were launched, a drop of 20% compared to 2022, wherein 224,141 units were launched,” Samir Jasuja, CEO and MD of PropEquity, said.This trend is expected to continue in 2024, he added.”Several factors are contributing to this decline. Rising real estate prices (up to 50-100% in some cities over the past two years) and increasing construction costs are making affordable housing projects less profitable for developers.”Concerned over the trend, Nitin Gupta, Secretary, CREDAI NCR, Bhiwadi- Neemrana, said prioritising affordable homes is essential to make the dream of homeownership attainable for lower and middle-income individuals.
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