Pune :Sales are expected to remain strong despite modest new launches in the country witnessed during the first half of the year (H1 2019), according to the latest JLL report, Residential Market Update – H1 2019, released today.With Hyderabad being on top among the seven cities, residential real estate market witnessed an increase of 22% in sales at a pan-India level during the period, it said. Interestingly, the share of affordable and mid-income housing (ticket size of up to INR 10 million in Mumbai and INR 7.5 million across other cities), has seen an increase up to 58% at the country level, the report added.Pune tops the list, with 91% of the new supply falling in the affordable and mid-income category.

The report added, with gradual revival in homebuyers’ confidence and improved affordability, markets witnessed a resurgence in sales in 2018. The resurgence continued in H1 2019 too.Annual sales growth in Puneremained at 8%.

Sales

	H1 2016	H2 2016	H1 2017	H2 2017	H1 2018	H2 2018	H1 2019
Pune	9431	9429	9777	7844	9988	11506	10824

Source: JLL REIS

But sales are likely to receive a further fillip with progressive policies of the government. “Sales across the top seven cities are likely to receive a further fillip with progressive policies of the government. “Series of reforms and rising buyers’ interest in the segment have propelled the sector to align itself to the market demand. Interestingly, in most cities, homebuyers continue to focus on ready to move in projects and projects nearing completion. As a result of this shift in buying preference, developers too are focused on completing their ongoing projects,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO & Country Head, JLL India.

With developers focusing on delivery of already launched projects, new launches of residential units decreased by 11% on a y-o-y basis across the top seven cities, the report added. With the exception of Mumbai and Bengaluru, where launches grew y-o-y, all other cities saw a dip during H1 2019. Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Bengaluru continued to dominate launches and formed three-fourth of the overall launches during this period.

“Limited number of launches by developers, in a way, is helping the sector to balance the demand supply scenario in the country. This will act as a cushion and help the sector revive. As a result of the reform measures more specifically RERA and GST, we expect more transparency in the sector which in turn will bring back buyers’ confidence. ” said Siva Krishnan, MD – Residential Services, Developer Solutions and Strategic Consulting.

Launches

	H1 2016	H2 2016	H1 2017	H2 2017	H1 2018	H2 2018	H1 2019
Pune	12855	12551	9974	7978	10390	10294	6776

Source: JLL REIS

Like the national trend, launches in Pune declined by nearly 35%, according to the report. Developers have so far focused on clearing the existing inventory in completed and under construction projects.

The report added that an assessment of year-to-sell (YTS) and average construction period across cities reflects a parity, indicating optimal signs of inventory management. “With Delhi NCR and Kolkata being the exception, the average YTS at 3.4 years across the seven cities compares favourably with the average construction period for a typical residential project across these cities at 3-4 years,” said Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research & REIS, JLL India.