New Delhi: Housing sales in Delhi-NCR market declined by 43% last year at 40,575 dwelling units, the lowest in a decade, while prices rose marginally by 3 per cent, according to property consultant Knight Frank India. The National Capital Region, the country's largest residential property market, had recorded a sale of 71,421 units in 2013.
New launches fell by 24% to 73,143 units during 2014 as against 95,678 units in the previous year. Still, the total unsold units in Delhi-NCR at 2014-end stood at 1,92,568 units, which would take developers more than three years to clear the inventory.
"NCR performs the worst in a decade. Sales nosedived by 43% in 2014," Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal told reporters. Gurgaon recorded a 40% dip in sales volume, the worst ever in its history, he added.
On prices, he said it increased by 3% in absolute term but in real term after taking into account inflation, the housing rates remained stable. Baijal expected housing sales to pick up in the first half of this year with all macro-economic fundamentals in place and recent interest rate cut by the RBI.
Elaborating more, company's Chief Economist and Director Research Samantak Das said: "This is decade-low sales in NCR. Main reasons of fall are basically the delayed economic revival, high interest regime, bad market sentiments among investors as well as end-users and regulatory issues".
According to the report, the Delhi-NCR market witnessed sale of 28,500 units and 12,075 units during the first half and second half of last year, respectively. Of the total housing sales in Delhi-NCR during 2014, the Greater Noida market contributed the maximum at 17,235 units, followed by Ghaziabad at 8,090 units, Gurgaon at 7,933 units and Noida 6,467 units.
