Housing prices increased in 41 cities during 2021-22, while the rates of residential units fell in five cities and remained stable in four cities, according to price index RESIDEX released by National Housing Bank (NHB).
All of the eight major metros of the country viz., Ahmedabad (13.8%), Bengaluru (2.5%), Chennai (7.7%), Delhi (3.2%), Hyderabad (11%), Kolkata (2.6%), Mumbai (1.9%) and Pune (0.9%) recorded increase in the index on an annual basis, NHB RESIDEX said.
The annual change varied widely across the cities, ranging from an increase of 13.8% (Ahmedabad and Bhubaneshwar) to a decline of 5.9% (Navi Mumbai), it said.
On a sequential (quarter-on-quarter) basis, the 50-city index registered an expansion of 2.6% in January-March 2022 as against 1.7% in the previous quarter. The index shows an increasing trend on Quarter-on-Quarter (Q-o-Q) basis since June 2021, suggesting revival of housing market post COVID-induced lockdown, it said.
The NHB, which launched housing price index 'NHB RESIDEX' in 2007 to track the movement in housing prices on quarterly basis, has revamped the system by changing the base year to 2017-18.
The market price for under-construction properties, computed using the quoted prices for under-construction and ready-to-move unsold properties, also recorded an annual increase of 4.8% in quarter ended March 2022 as against 1% a year ago.
The variation in market price ranged from an increase of 23.9% (Bhubaneshwar) to a contraction of 10.8% (Indore).
On a sequential basis, the 50-city index witnessed a change of 1.9% during the January-March 2022 quarter compared to 0.9% in the previous quarter, suggesting an uptick in the asking prices for properties, which is likely to continue due to rise in demand because of preference of owning a house among millennials and rising cost of construction.
