2 mn affordable homes needed by 2011

Affordable housing for the middle class segment, in the Rs 300,000-10 lakh (Rs 1 million) income group, requires about two million homes by 2011, the Knight Frank study said. The requirement covers an area of 1,650 million sq ft and entails an investment of Rs 3,30,000 crore (Rs 3,300 billion).

Of this, nearly 80 per cent of demand is expected to come from the Rs 300,000-500,000 segment, it said. Over 32 per cent of potential buyers are looking at making purchases in the next 6-12 months.

The highest requirement is from Mumbai and the NCR, which require 0.4 million units and 0.54 million units, respectively, with corresponding investment of Rs 64,700 crore (Rs 647 billion) and Rs 87,600 crore (Rs 876 billion).