Housing sales up 5%, office demand grows 18% during Jul-Sep across top 8 cities: Knight Frank

Housing sales rose 5 per cent while gross office leasing increased 18 per cent annually during July- September across eight major cities as demand stayed strong for premium homes and workspaces, according to Knight Frank. Real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Thursday (October 3) released its report 'India Real Estate' for the third quarter of 2024 calendar year through a webinar. As per the data, housing sales rose 5% during July- September to 87,108 units across eight cities from 82,612 units in the year-ago period. Gross leasing of office space grew 18% to 19 million square feet (mn.sq.ft) from 16.1 mn.sq.ft., driven by high demand from multinational companies wanting to set up Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Knight Frank's report shows a modest increase in housing sales during July- September, in a complete contrast to data provided by Anarock and PropEquity which reported a drop in total sales during July- September.

"Momentum in the residential market has trended up well in 2024 with Q3, 2024 recording the highest quarterly sales this year at 87,108 units," Knight Frank said in the report. Addressing a virtual press conference, Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said, the growth in housing sales is driven by demand for premium housing costing above Rs. 1 crore each.

"There are concerns in affordable housing segment," Baijal said, adding that sales in this category have declined due to availability and affordability challenges. As per the report, housing sales have grown across all markets except for the Delhi-NCR where sales have dipped by 7% YoY (year-onyear). The highest sales volumes were recorded in Mumbai at 24,222 units, which is a new high for the market. Sales in Mumbai grew 9% yearon- year. Among the larger markets, sales grew the most in Bengaluru at 11% YoY with 14,604 units. Housing sales in Pune were up 1% to 13,200 units, while demand in Hyderabad grew 9% to 9,114 units. Ahmedabad saw an 11% growth in sales, while Kolkata witnessed a 14% growth in sales to 4,309 units. Housing sales in Chennai increased 6 per cent to 4,105 units. However, sales of residential properties in Delhi-NCR declined 7 per cent to 12,976 units during July-September as compared to the yearago period.

B.luru Workspace Leasing Jumps: On office demand, Knight Frank said the gross leasing of workspace in Bengaluru jumped more than two-fold to 5.3 mn.sq.ft. from 2.1 mn.sq.ft. In Delhi-NCR, the office demand grew 26 per cent to 3.2 mn.sq.ft. from 2.5 mn.sq.ft. The leasing of office space in Chennai increased 35% while Ahmedabad saw a growth of 69%. However, the office demand in Mumbai fell 17% to 2.7 mn.sq.ft. from 3.2 mn.sq. ft. In Pune, the leasing declined 14% whereas in Hyderabad, the office demand decreased 26%. The gross leasing of office space in Kolkata was down 38% from 0.3 mn.sq. ft. in the year-ago period. The consultant noted that the global capacity centres (GCCs) took 7.1 mn.sq. ft., the largest share of the transactions' pie, accounting for 37% share in the total leasing during July- September quarter of 2024.

"India-facing businesses and GCCs have continued to expand operations, remaining the primary drivers of increased volumes. We expect this trend to continue for the rest of the year, with the possibility of office leasing numbers crossing 70 mn.sq.ft. by the end of 2024 -- an astounding 10 mn.sq.ft. increase, or a 20% growth over the previous high. This exceptional growth underscores India's position as a thriving global business hub," Baijal said.