Indians still prefer cash despite rising digital payments

If you are planning to buy a house, this news can be a big shock for you. The number of homebuyers is increasing amidst rising inflation. However, in the first quarter of 2023 (January-March), there has been a significant increase in housing prices. In the top 8 cities of the country, there has been an eight percent increase in housing prices on an annual basis in the January-March quarter. Among them, Delhi-NCR has witnessed the highest increase of 16 percent.

Real estate developer associations such as CREDAI, Colliers, and Liases Foras have released a price tracker report on housing prices. According to this report, there has been a significant surge in housing prices due to increasing construction costs and rising demand. It is noteworthy that prices have been steadily increasing in Delhi-NCR for the past 11 quarters, approximately three years.

Housing prices in the first quarter of 2023 and their increase:

City                         Increase (% in)             Price (Rupees per square foot)
Delhi-NCR              16                                          8,432
Kolkata                    15                                          7,211
Bengaluru               14                                          8,748
Hyderabad              13                                        10,410
Pune                         11                                           8,352
Ahmedabad            11                                           6,324
Chennai                  04                                           7,395
Mumbai                -02                                          19,219

Where have prices increased the most?
Housing prices in Delhi-NCR are witnessing a tremendous surge. The prices in Dwarka Expressway have increased by 59 percent. The opening of the Central Peripheral Road and its connection to National Highway-8 has caused uneven growth in the prices of properties in this area. Additionally, Golf Course Road, Gurugram, has seen a 42 percent increase in prices. However, Mumbai has shown a decline of two percent.

What do the experts say?
Piyush Jain, Managing Director of Colliers India, says that there is a rapid growth in the housing sector. Despite adverse conditions in global markets, the real estate sector is overcoming the challenges of high interest rates. On the other hand, the expectation is that there will be an increase in housing demand due to the absence of growth in policy rates. Boman Irani, Chairman of CREDAI, says that there is an increasing interest among people in buying homes after the COVID-19 pandemic. People are showing interest in purchasing larger houses based on amenities. Therefore, the real estate market is expected to continue growing in the coming times. Pankaj Kapoor, Managing Director of Liases Foras, hopes that there may be a slight increase in housing prices in the future based on this report.