Written by Ai Powered PMC Akbar Jiwani
Special Correspondent:
Mumbai/New Delhi: India’s residential market returned to modest growth in the July-September 2026 quarter, with housing sales in the top seven cities rising 3% year-on-year to about 1,00,220 units, according to property consultant Anarock. Sales were 97,080 units in the same quarter last year. The total sales value rose about 2% to roughly Rs 1.55 lakh crore.
The quarter marks a recovery after two weaker quarters. Sales had fallen 6% year-on-year in Q2 2026 and 7% in Q1 2026, after a 14% decline in full-year 2025. Sales in the first nine months of 2026 stood at about 2.93 lakh units, up 2% year-on-year, and rose about 10% over the previous quarter.
City-wise trends
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) remained the largest market with about 31,750 units sold, up 5%. Bengaluru recorded about 16,670 units, up 12%. Together, the two cities accounted for 48% of all sales. Hyderabad posted the fastest growth among the seven cities, with sales rising about 15% to roughly 12,970 units.
Other cities saw declines: Pune sales fell 6% to about 15,690 units, NCR slipped 1% to about 13,765 units, Chennai fell about 10% and Kolkata about 4%.
New launches surge
New launches rose 18% year-on-year to about 1,14,320 units, up from 96,690 units a year ago. MMR added about 37,500 new units (up 27%), while Hyderabad saw launches more than double, up 120% to about 18,950 units. Bengaluru launches rose 17% to about 17,720 units. MMR, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad together accounted for 81% of new supply.
By price band, the Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore segment made up 34% of new launches, followed by Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 2.5 crore at 24%, Rs 40 lakh to Rs 80 lakh at 17%, and homes below Rs 40 lakh at 14%.
Prices and inventory
Average residential prices across the seven cities rose 7% year-on-year to about Rs 9,714 per sq ft. NCR saw the sharpest rise at 12%, followed by Bengaluru at 8%. With launches outpacing sales, available inventory climbed 12% year-on-year to about 6.31 lakh units.
Outlook
Anuj Puri, Chairperson of Anarock Group, indicated that the festive period should be supported by stable borrowing costs and fresh launches, though buyers may remain selective given higher prices and affordability concerns.
Separately, Colliers India data showed office leasing in the top cities at 18.7 million sq ft in Q3 2026, up 9% year-on-year, a recent Q3 high, reflecting continued commercial demand that supports overall real estate growth.
Sources: Anarock Q3 2026 data as reported by Business Standard (28 Sep 2026), PropNewsTime and RealtyMandi. Figures are Anarock’s estimates for the top seven cities.
