By AI Powered PMC Akbar Jiwani, Special Correspondent: Real Estate, for Realnewsofindia.com
Saturday, 7 November 2026
India’s housing market ended a run of weak quarters in July–September 2026, with sales in the top seven cities rising 3% year-on-year to about 100,220 units, according to property consultant Anarock. Sales value rose about 2% to roughly ₹1.55 lakh crore. The recovery now meets a fresh test: on 7 October the Reserve Bank of India raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%.
Recovery after three soft quarters
Sales were down 7% year-on-year in Q1 2026 and 6% in Q2. The Q3 figure is up about 10% from the previous quarter. Over nine months, sales total about 292,610 units, up 2% year-on-year. New launches rose 18% year-on-year to about 114,320 units, and unsold inventory climbed 12% to about 630,590 units. Average residential prices rose 7% year-on-year to about ₹9,714 per sq ft, with the National Capital Region seeing the sharpest rise at about 12%.
City-wise picture
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region led in volume with about 31,750 units sold (+5%), followed by Bengaluru at about 16,670 units (+12%). Hyderabad posted the fastest growth at 15%, to about 12,970 units. Together, MMR and Bengaluru account for roughly 48% of all sales. Pune sold about 15,690 units (down 6% year-on-year but up about 20% from the previous quarter), while NCR was nearly flat at about 13,765 units (-1%). Chennai recorded the steepest fall at about 10%. On launches, MMR added about 37,500 units (+27%), and Hyderabad’s launches more than doubled to about 18,950 units.
RBI hike: what it means for buyers
The RBI’s move from 5.25% to 5.50%, its first hike in nearly four years, shifted the policy stance from “neutral” to “calibrated tightening”. Anarock data puts entry-level home loan rates at about 7.1–7.75%, with typical borrowers paying around 8–9.8%.
Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Group, said the hike was expected given inflation and geopolitical uncertainty, but that “momentum will now be tested” because even modest EMI increases can push buyers to defer purchases. Shekhar G Patel, National President of CREDAI, said festive-season sales could be affected though underlying demand remains strong. Shishir Baijal of Knight Frank India expects affordability pressure in rate-sensitive, lower-priced segments but no material near-term disruption, while Lata Pillai of JLL said the pace of any further hikes will matter more than this single move.
Affordable homes (priced below ₹75 lakh) made up only about 16% of Q3 sales, so the mid-income segment (₹75 lakh–₹2 crore) is where EMI sensitivity will be watched most closely.
Festive demand and a different dataset
A separate NoBroker report covering six metros showed housing demand up 7% year-on-year in Q3, the strongest of the year, with launches of 69,718 units (+32%). It recorded price growth of 14.5% in Bengaluru, 10.6% in NCR, 10.2% in Chennai, 8.9% in MMR and 7.7% in Pune. Noida and Gurgaon demand fell 9% and 8% respectively, with developers shifting focus to Ghaziabad and Faridabad. (Figures differ from Anarock’s because the datasets and city coverage differ.)
Offices stay strong
Colliers India reported record Q3 office leasing of 18.7 million sq ft across the top seven cities, driven by global capability centres, technology and BFSI occupiers. Delhi-NCR leasing more than doubled, and flexible workspace take-up rose 49%. Arpit Mehrotra of Colliers projects 75–80 million sq ft of transactions for 2026.
Outlook
Analysts broadly expect resilient but more measured demand through the festive season. Developers launching in MMR, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and buyers watching EMIs, will both be focused on the RBI’s next policy signal.
