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New Delhi: Average housing prices appreciated marginally by 1% year-on-year across seven major cities during the January-March quarter and are likely to rise further on the higher cost of raw materials, according to property consultant ANAROCK.

As per the latest data, the average housing prices in seven cities increased to Rs 5,660 per sq. ft in the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year from Rs 5,599 in the year-ago period.

The data is of residential properties available for sale in the primary market.

In the Delhi-NCR market, prices appreciated 2% to Rs 4,650 in January-March from Rs 4,580 per sq. ft in the corresponding period last year.

Housing prices in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were up 1% to Rs 10,750 from Rs 10,610 per sq. ft during the period under review. In Bengaluru, rates increased 2% to Rs 5,060 per sq ft from Rs 4,975 per sq. ft.

Pune saw a 1%  appreciation to Rs 5,580 per sq. ft from Rs 5,510 per sq. ft, while Hyderabad witnessed a 1% rise to Rs 4,240 from 4,195 per sq. ft.

Housing prices in Chennai were up 1% to Rs 4,990 per sq ft from Rs 4,935 per sq. ft. In Kolkata, prices rose marginally to Rs 4,400 per sq. ft in January-March 2021 from Rs 4,385 per sq ft in the year-ago period.

“Average property prices in the top seven cities have remained range-bound for the last few years but in Q1 2021, we saw some movement with most cities recording a rise of 1-2% over Q1 2020—except Kolkata, where prices remained stagnant,” ANAROCK Director and Head Research Prashant Thakur told PTI.

Going forward, he said property prices could rise further, particularly in the second half of 2021.

“At the onset, this price rise was long overdue and if not for COVID-19 in 2020, we would have seen an escalation,” Thakur said. He mentioned that robust housing sales in cities like Bengaluru, Pune and MMR are reason enough for prices to rise.

“Also, this price rise will not just be because inventories are getting cleared or demand is improving but also because input costs (of cement, steel, etc.) are going up and there is also upward pressure on labour cost. Hence, the price rise is inevitable,” Thakur said.

Recently, ANAROCK reported that 58,290 homes have been estimated to be sold in the top seven cities in Q1 2021 in comparison to 45,200 units in Q1 2020.

MMR and Pune together accounted for 53% of housing sales in the quarter, driven by the reduction in stamp duty by the Maharashtra government.