Pune: The sales in realty sector is back to pre-COVID levels in Pune, according to Gera Pune Residential Realty Report. This census-based study of the Pune residential realty market in the country is based research done by Gera Developments which covers all existing projects in a 30 km radius of the city.
The performance of the residential realty sector last year was strongly hit by the COVID outbreak and lockdowns. Further, developers also dealt with low manpower and suffered additional costs in light of the migrant worker crisis. However, despite the lockdown, the Pune residential real estate market has posted encouraging numbers across the board, the report stated.
The 6-monthly sales numbers for the July to December is at 44,709 units while in the same period last year, the number was 45,110. This indicates that beyond a negligible decrease, sales figures are back to pre-COVID levels. While overall sales in 2020 have dropped by 12.34 per cent compared to 2019, the drop has been largely confined to H1 2020, while H2 2020 has registered a recovery.
The report read, “The impact is evident across all parameters. Sales are back to normal and are at par with pre-Covid levels. Average prices across the city have risen by 3.5 per cent. Inventory is the lowest in six years in both, absolute and percentage terms. Total number of projects have fallen by 15 per cent compared to five years ago, and number of new units launched has fallen by 40 per cent, which was expected. In the same period, projects launched in the premium plus (between Rs 5,721 and Rs 7,151 psf) and luxury (above Rs 7,151 psf) segments increased.”
As compared to 2019, prices were increased by 3.5 per cent in last year. This increase was driven by a steep increase of 17.29 per cent in the prices of new projects during the pandemic. Within new projects, 3BHK homes, saw their prices increase, which further contributed to the rising prices, the report added. Sales have scarcely been impacted in the 800+ sqft segment and have actually increased by 24 per cent in the 1,201 – 1,400 sqft segment, the report stated.