Delhi NCR to Bengaluru: Housing Sales Boom in 2024 Across 7 Major Cities

In an impressive show of market resilience, the Indian urban real estate sector is poised to end 2024 on a high note. Analysis from JLL indicates that housing sales are set to hit an unprecedented 3.05 lakh units across the top seven cities, including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad. This surge in demand is expected to generate a staggering ₹5.10 lakh crore from a total area of 485 million sq. ft. The first nine months of 2024 already saw close to 2.30 lakh homes being sold, amassing ₹3.8 lakh crore and covering 363.2 million sq. ft of space.

Amidst this upward trajectory, Delhi-NCR has emerged as a forerunner, both in terms of sales value and the area sold, suggesting a growing appetite for larger and premium homes in the region.

During January to September 2024, this area alone accounted for the sale of close to 90 million sq ft of housing worth over ₹1.20 lakh crore across 39,322 units, surpassing its previous annual sales records. Mumbai and Bengaluru followed, with Mumbai fetching higher per sq. ft rates despite smaller apartment sizes, and Bengaluru offering more spacious homes.

The robust sales in the initial three quarters of 2024, each exceeding ₹1.10 lakh crore with over 115 million sq. ft sold, underscore a vibrant market. This buoyancy is further evidenced by major national developers meeting their annual sales targets within just nine months, driven by strong demand for premium housing, particularly in Delhi NCR. "With capital values surging and being at an all-time high, close to ₹3.80 lakh crore worth of homes have already been sold across the top seven cities in the first nine months of 2024, taking the average sale value of an apartment to ₹1.64 crore. This was primarily driven by premium housing projects recording robust sales during the year, especially in Delhi NCR," stated Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research and REIS, India, JLL.

Real Estate's Bright Future

The fourth quarter, coinciding with the festive season, is anticipated to sustain or even surpass the sales momentum of the previous three quarters, with expectations of matching the over 75,000 units sold on average. This sets the stage for a year-end estimated total of 3.05 lakh units sold. The continued demand is not only a testament to consumer confidence but also hints at a potential increase in job creation within the construction and allied sectors. Moreover, these record-breaking sales could significantly influence both government policy and private sector investment in urban infrastructure, paving the way for a brighter future for the real estate sector.

Real estate developers have not been passive in this upward trend. They have actively acquired strategic land parcels in metro cities for future residential projects, ensuring that the housing supply for 2025 remains strong. "During the year, real estate developers continued to acquire strategic land parcels across the metro cities for proposed residential development, thus the housing supply for 2025 across the top seven cities is expected to remain robust. Demand is expected to remain strong too. With sales anticipated to go up, capital values too will rise, eventually pulling up the area and overall value of homes to be sold," explained Siva Krishnan, Senior Managing Director (Chennai & Coimbatore), Head - Residential Services, India, JLL.