Housing sales rise 9% YoY, drop 7% QoQ amid West Asia tensions: Report

NEW DELHI: Housing sales across India’s top seven cities rose 9 per cent year-on-year to over 1.01 lakh units in the January–March quarter, aided by a low base, but declined sequentially as global uncertainties linked to the West Asia conflict weighed on demand, according to property consultant Anarock.Total sales stood at 1,01,675 units during the quarter, up from 93,280 units in the corresponding period last year. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, sales fell 7 per cent from 1,08,970 units recorded in the October–December period.In value terms, housing sales increased 6 per cent annually to Rs 1.51 lakh crore from Rs 1.42 lakh crore a year earlier. Sequentially, however, sales value declined 6 per cent from Rs 1.60 lakh crore in the preceding quarter.Anarock attributed the moderation to heightened geopolitical uncertainty stemming from the West Asia conflict, which impacted buyer sentiment, particularly towards the end of the quarter.Commenting on the trend, Anuj Puri said, “While India's residential segment's long-term fundamentals remain strong, the short-term tremors of the Iran War were clearly visible in the first quarter. The 7 per cent dip in sales tracks the war-induced uncertainty, with sentiment and sales clearly affected by surging oil and construction prices -- particularly in March," as quoted by news agency PTI.He added that demand from overseas buyers, especially from the Middle East, also slowed amid the uncertainty. “The decline also aligns with large numbers of prospective Middle Eastern homebuyers, who invest significantly in Indian real estate, hitting the pause button under the war cloud,” Puri said.The data indicates that while the sector continues to show resilience on an annual basis, near-term headwinds linked to global developments have begun to reflect in quarterly performance.