Bengaluru to Delhi: Demand for premium homes drives residential sales in Q2

In Mumbai, reduced stamp duty and low interest rates get customers interested in property

Kingfisher Towers on Bengaluru’s upscale Vittal Mallya Road recently saw three high-value transactions between Rs 25 crore and Rs 28 crore. With interest rates declining and flexible payment plans coming up, the rich are investing in high-end properties in Bengaluru as they see value for money in real estate.
 
Brigade Group sold 30 units in a premium project in the second quarter (Q2), compared to the usual 10 units in a quarter. The company also sold 10 units in a villa project. “We have already reached the pre-Covid level of sales in residential, with sales value in the September quarter somewhat better than Q2 of 2019-20,” said Rajendra Joshi, chief executive officer (CEO), residential business at Brigade Group.
 
Another Bengaluru-based developer Sobha has seen higher sales value in Q2 of 2020-21 (FY21), compared to the corresponding period a year ago. “Our price realisation of Rs 7,737 per square feet achieved during Q2FY21 is the highest, compared to the past five quarters,” said.
 
J C Sharma, vice-chairman and managing director (MD) at Sobha. The total sales value for the company in Q2 has gone up slightly at Rs 689 crore, compared to Rs 682 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.
 
“We have seen a jump of 200 per cent in the number of deals in the September quarter, compared to the June quarter. We have crossed 27 deals worth over Rs 2 crore each in the July-September period,” said Farook Mahmood, chairman of Silverline Realty, a Bengaluru-based real estate broking firm which facilitated the transactions at Kingfisher Towers.
 
JLL Research said residential sales were up 34 per cent in the September quarter, compared to the June quarter. One of the biggest emerging trends is consolidation since the market share of serious organised players is gradually increasing. “Homebuyers are willing to go that extra mile to buy a home from a branded developer. New launches have come down. The demand for ready-to-move-in homes has seen a spike,” said Ashish R Puravankara, MD, Puravankara.
 
A report by Emkay Global Financial Services points out that there is a large supply-side stimulus, which will benefit the strong players. The investor demand for apartments is currently missing and the share of affordable housing in sales is down 300 basis points to 47 per cent in the first half of this calendar year, says the report.
 
In Mumbai, some top developers have seen uptick in sales bookings. For instance, Sunteck Realty saw 98 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth in pre-sales for Q2FY21 at Rs 200 crore; it was 96 per cent year-on-year as well.
 
“A combination of favourable factors, such as reduced stamp duty and low interest rates, is expediting the decision time cycle for prospective customers. By and large, there is renewed interest for high quality products by large organised developers, especially those with strong balance sheets and brand recall,” said Kamal Khetan, chairman and MD, Sunteck Realty.
 
The Maharashtra government had recently reduced the stamp duty for property transactions. In Delhi, developers are hoping the festive season to be better this year as opposed to last year. Alongside serious buyers and fence-sitters, investors are also coming out to get hold of property in the city. “This is because the home loan interest rates are low, prices are subdued, and there are plenty of attractive payment options in the market. In Q2FY21, we sold 1,344 units, against 1,760 in the same period last year,” said Ankit Kansal, founder and MD, 360Realtors.
 
Another Delhi-based player GBP Group has done a sale of Rs 90 crore in Q2, compared to Rs 150 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
 
Housing finance companies are also seeing levels of loan disbursements in the affordable segment inching towards pre-Covid levels.
 
“In fact, Q2 has been one the best periods as far as disbursements go. We are seeing a lot of demand from first-time buyers. We are looking at around 50 per cent growth in loan disbursements this year,” said Ravi Subramanian, MD and CEO, Shriram Housing Finance.
 
Another player Aadhar Housing Finance is also seeing traction from the salaried class.
 
“This year we might see 8-9 per cent growth in the housing segment, as opposed to negative growth earlier estimated after lockdown,” said Deo Shankar Tripathi, MD and CEO of the Blackstone-backed firm.

 

(With inputs from Subrata Panda in Mumbai.)