Selling time for unsold housing inventory down by 31% - JLL

Housing market continues on growth trajectory: Selling time for unsold inventory reduced by 31% as compared to 2019, now at just 22 months - JLL

• Premium segment records sharp drop.
  
  
• Among cities Bengaluru and Delhi NCR require the least time to sell out their current active unsold inventory.
  
  
• Hyderabad may take the longest to liquidate the unsold inventory.

MUMBAI, 06^th JUNE 2024 – The residential sector in India's top seven cities, including Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, has witnessed a significant 31% decrease in the time it will take to sell the active unsold housing inventory, as analysed by JLL. In Q1 (Jan-March) 2024, the time to liquidate inventory has dropped to just 22 months, compared to 32 months by the end of 2019, driven primarily by an exponential surge in housing demand. This assessment is based on the average sales rate observed over the last 8 quarters.

In the past five years (2019 - Q1 2024), the residential sector has witnessed a consistent growth in housing launches, with almost a million units launched during this period. As a result, the actively selling unsold housing inventory has reached approximately 468,000 units by March 2024, marking a 24% increase since December 2019. However, despite this surge in unsold inventory, there has been a remarkable reduction in the estimated time required to sell these properties.

“Interestingly, both the affordably priced (apartments priced up to INR 75 Lakh) and premium (apartments priced between INR 1.5 crore-3 crore) segments have seen a sharp decline of ~43% each in the time needed to sell their respective unsold inventory levels. While the fall in the former was due to its reducing share in launches over the last four years, the premium segment saw this decline despite a substantial jump in the segment’s share in annual launches - from ~2% in 2019 to 22% in 2023. Infact, time needed to sell the unsold inventory in the premium segment has dropped from 51 months in 2019 to 29 months in Q1 2024, showcasing the strong sales momentum in this segment. Apartments belonging to ticket size category of INR 3.0 crore and above, have also witnessed a 11% reduction in time to sell during the same time.” said Dr Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head Research & REIS, India, JLL. 

Source: JLL Research, REIS
Note*: The months to sell has been rounded off and % change has been calculated on actual numbers with decimals.

Analysis is done based on active unsold Inventory which does not include projects which are on hold. Mumbai includes Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane city, and Navi Mumbai; Delhi NCR includes Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Sohna.

Data includes only apartments. Rowhouses, villas, and plotted developments are excluded from our analysis.

Among all price categories, it is noteworthy that the premium segment still takes the longest time to sell its unsold inventory, with an average of 29 months as of Q1 2024. However, despite this longer selling period, the premium segment has experienced a significant reduction in inventory liquidation time due to its relatively faster sales velocity. This segment has emerged as the top performer, driven by strong buyer interest in larger homes with improved support amenities.

“Time taken to liquidate the housing stock has declined across majority of the cities like Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune between December 2019 and Q1 2024. Delhi NCR has recorded the sharpest decline in terms of months to sell, coming down from 48 months to just 14 months. This can be attributed to robust sales in the premium and luxury segment in Delhi NCR with a lot of quality projects getting completely sold out within days of their launch. With anticipated momentum in the coming quarters, the months to sell for the available inventory are likely to decline further in the near to medium term.” said Siva Krishnan, Senior Managing Director (Chennai & Coimbatore), Head - Residential Services, India, JLL

Bengaluru and Delhi NCR require the least time to liquidate their current active unsold inventory.

Source: JLL Research, REIS

JLL is India’s premier and largest professional services firm specialising in real estate. The Firm has grown from strength to strength in India for the past two decades. JLL India has an extensive presence across 10 major cities (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, and Coimbatore) and over 130 tier-II and III markets with a cumulative strength of over 14,000 professionals. The Firm provides investors, developers, local corporates, and multinational companies with a comprehensive range of services. These include leasing, capital markets, research & advisory, transaction management, project development, facility management and property & asset management. These services cover various asset classes such as commercial, industrial, warehouse and logistics, data centres, residential, retail, hospitality, healthcare, senior living, and education. For further information, please visit jll.co.in