Unsold housing stock stays high

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SALES are expected to touch a decadal high this year, but unsold inventory in the September quarter continue to remain almost at last year's levels. This is mainly because housing launches are also happening in a big way, say analysts.

- RAGHAVENDRA KAMATH

In residential real estate, unsold stock refers to the properties that are in various stages of construction and not delivered to buyers.

More than 328,000 units were launched in the top seven cities in the first nine months of this year, according to Anarock Property Consultants. In comparison, about 265,000 units were launched in the first nine months of 2022.

"Given the addition of this significant new supply into the market, the unsold inventory declined just 3% on an yearly basis (in Q3CY23)," said Anuj Puri, chairman at Anarock Property Consultants.Available inventory across the top 7 cities is at about 610,200 units, the brokerage said.

Another consultant Knight Frank said that the unsold inventory level has increased 8% y-o-y as fresh development activity has intensified. However, this must be read in conjunction with the sales momentum to arrive at a better assessment of market health, it said.