COVID-19 to reduce housing sales by 25-35%, office absorption to fall 13-30% – ANAROCK

Construction delays could run into several months for well-funded projects, few years for others; 4.66 lakh units to be previously completed by 2020-end face high risk of delays
Affordable housing target group most affected, limited income & unemployment fears to defer purchase decisions
Indian office sector to see significant impact by COVID-19; besides demand-supply decline, key occupiers to re-look office space requirements
Indian retail leasing & new mall completions to see 30-50% dip against previous growth estimates; revenue-sharing model to gain dominance
Technology to gain significant precedence in Indian real estate from 2020 onwards
COVID-19 Impact on Housing Sector
Current estimates reveal a substantial drop in demand and supply across various real estate segments in 2020. Housing sales could witness a 25-35% yearly drop in 2020 against the preceding year, reveals the ANAROCK report ‘COVID-19 – Will it Reset Indian Real Estate?’
Residential sales in 2019 stood at approx. 2.61 lakh units across top 7 cities and may now fall between 1.70 lakh -1.96 lakh units. Likewise, new launches may also witness a 25-30% decline during the same period – from 2.37 lakh units in 2019 to anywhere between 1.66 lakh -1.78 lakh units.

Unsold inventory in 2020 will largely remain stable, with single-digit annual decline of around 1-3%. The nationwide lockdown has completely halted construction activity – project delays could run into several months for well-funded projects, and a couple of years for others. Nearly 4.66 lakh units across the top 7 cities earlier slated for completion in 2020 now face a high risk of delays.