New home launches tumble by 39% in NCR in Q4

Property market of the National Capital Region (NCR) saw 39 per cent fall in the new launches of apartments to about 7,600 units during January-March period compared with the previous quarter, global realty consultant Cushman & Wakefield said on Monday.

In the top eight cities of the country, Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) said that an estimated 38,000 residential units were launched in the first quarter of 2013, registering a marginal fall of about 2 per cent over the previous quarter.

These major eight cities are -- NCR, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.

"National Capital Region (NCR) witnessed the launch of approximately 7,600 units, a decline of 39 per cent compared to the previous quarter," C&W said in a statement.

The new launches were concentrated in the suburban locations of Gurgaon (66 per cent) and Noida (34 per cent) with over 80 per cent of units catering to the mid-range segment.

"Due to the subdued demand, Noida witnessed a steep decline in new launches at close to 70 per cent and ended up being the primary contributor for the overall decline in number of launches in the NCR," the consultant said.

Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad also witnessed decline in new launches of residential units by 39 per cent, 3 per cent, 89 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively.

"New residential units launched more than doubled in Bengaluru and Pune in the last quarter, increasing by 144 per cent and 109 per cent, respectively," C&W said. Kolkata saw a modest increase of three per cent.

On prices, the report said that most locations in Delhi witnessed stable capital values in both mid and high-end segments. However, capital values in high-end segment in South Central Delhi witnessed 15 per cent appreciation over last year due to limited supply and high demand.

Among the suburban locations, Gurgaon saw higher appreciation due to the high demand from both end-users, the workforce working in the various companies located here and investors, coupled with the limited project completions.

Gurgaon (NCR) saw a change in the capital values in the luxury/high-end and mid-end residential segment at 29 per cent and 18 per cent respectively over last year, C&W said.

"The country's residential market witnessed some vibrant launch activity during the quarter despite the sluggish economic environment. Funding will remain a major challenge for developers while executing these projects," C&W executive managing director (South Asia) Shveta Jain said.

"Capital values have largely remained stable across most micro markets except for some key locations in NCR, Chennai and Bengaluru. Prices are expected to remain largely stable in the coming months as developers will be looking mainly to boost sale and increase cash flows in projects being currently executed," Jain added.