MUMBAI: In a pan-India real estate slowdown, the unsold residential inventory in the country has increased by 2.7% to over 8,65,000 units at the end of the first half (H1) of the ongoing financial year. Approximately 30% of this unsold housing stock is located in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The average housing rates in NCR fell by 5.9% to an average weighted price of ₹ 22,115 per sq ft, primarily due to the lower average pricing of new launches. The real pressure, therefore, will be on project margins and cash flows. The only non-brokerage real estate research company in India, housing sales in MMR were flat at 34,552 units, reflecting a decline of 0.1%, according to data analysed and compiled by Liases Foras. Developers significantly ramped up residential supply during Q2 of FY 2026-27, with launches rising by 18.7% to 30,262 units. During the quarter, the unsold stock edged up by 0.4% to 260,629 units, while residential real estate prices increased by 1.3% to an average weighted price of ₹ 25,199 per sq ft, the highest among the eight major Indian metropolitan cities of MMR, Pune, the National Capital Region (NCR), Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bengaluru. At the end of FY 2022-23, the unsold inventory in MMR had reached a new high of 3,77,152 units. In NCR, sales declined by 2.4% during the quarter, marking the steepest decline among the eight cities. Launches increased by 6.7% to 14,188 units, while unsold inventory remained steady at 58,407 units. Sales in Bengaluru slipped marginally, and unsold inventory rose by 1.3%. He noted that approximately 258,000 homes were sold in H1 2026, while about 298,000 units were launched during the same period.
“With the festive season approaching, we expect launch activity to strengthen further,” he said. Rahool Maroo, a builder and managing director of the Tatvm Group, told Hindustan Times that the next few years would be a crucial test for real estate. “Construction costs are rising, but developers cannot keep increasing prices indefinitely without testing affordability and demand,” he said.
However, Pankaj Kapoor, managing director of Liases Foras maintained that new launches had continued to show consistent growth. “This should support stable residential sales, with the possibility of a modest improvement in overall market activity. However, the ongoing West Asia crisis and the correction in equity markets could weigh on sentiment, particularly in the luxury and ultra-luxury segments, where purchasing decisions are more sensitive to wealth effects and market confidence. However, sales momentum increased in Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Chennai while sales in Kolkata plateaued. Developers in MMR’s real estate sector are adopting a cautious approach. A mid-sized developer operating in the western suburbs commented, “We are taking each day as it comes. We have slowed down on acquiring new projects. Instead of focusing on expanding the portfolio, we want to ensure that we complete what we have on hand and maintain our integrity and brand value in the market to ensure our long-term survival. “Warren Buffett’s famous distinction between ‘price’ and ‘value’ is particularly relevant here—the price a developer needs to charge may not always align with what the market is willing to accept. Developers with high leverage or thin margins could find it increasingly difficult to sustain construction, leading to delays and, in some cases, stalled projects. Abhishek Kitan Gupta, CEO and Co-Founder of the prop-tech firm CRE Matrix, concurred that supply was outpacing absorption. Given the evolving geopolitical scenario impacting real estate economic activity, Liases Foras predicts that the upcoming festive season will test whether sales can keep pace with new supply, particularly in Pune and Hyderabad, where inventory is accumulating rapidly.
