Mumbai real estate market most unaffordable: Survey

The real estate market in Mumbai continues to be the most unaffordable with 29 per cent of the city's under-construction units priced at over Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), real estate consultancy firm Knight Frank said in a report.

This is against 11 per cent and 5 per cent for the National Capital Region and Bengaluru markets, respectively, the report said.

"Incessant price rise and higher concentration of premium projects with a ticket size of more than Rs 1 crore in new launches have limited the purchasing ability of home buyers resulting in a decelerating rate of absorption over the previous four quarters," the report said.

Only 48 per cent of the city's under-construction units are below the Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) mark, which is the lowest among the top six cities including Pune, NCR, Chennai, Bengaluru,

Hyderabad, it said.

The large number of new launches in Mumbai, in the previous four quarters, has significantly increased the unsold inventory in the market, it said.

Peripheral locations like Vasai, Virar, Mira Road, Ghodbunder Road and Panvel have witnessed a slew of new launches during the last one year, the report said.

"However, despite the waning interest of home buyers, quoted prices in Mumbai continue to remain high as developers are increasingly offloading their unsold inventory at a discount to investors who are willing to make substantial upfront payment," the report pointed out.

Bengaluru is the most affordable residential market with more than 77 per cent of its under-construction units falling below the ticket size of Rs 50 lakh followed by Chennai at 75 per cent, it said.

Hyderabad has only 51 per cent of its total under construction units below the Rs 50 lakh ticket size despite the city having the lowest weighted average price among the top six cities, it said.