India’s real estate sector faced a challenging year in 2025, disappointing most developers as housing sales weakened across nearly all major markets. Rising property prices, layoffs in the IT sector, geopolitical uncertainties, tariff-related tensions, and broader economic instability weighed heavily on buyer sentiment. As a result, the sector recorded a noticeable decline in residential sales during the year. Housing sales across India’s top seven cities fell by 14% in 2025, with approximately 3,95,625 units sold, compared to 4,59,645 units in 2024. This marked a significant slowdown after several years of strong post-pandemic recovery. Among these markets, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region recorded the highest number of housing sales at around 1,27,875 units, though this represented an 18% year-on-year decline. Pune followed with approximately 65,135 units sold, reflecting a sharper 20% annual drop. Together, these two western markets accounted for nearly 49% of total residential sales across the top seven cities in 2025, underscoring their continued dominance despite declining volumes. Year-on-year sales declined in six of the seven major cities, with only Chennai registering growth, where housing sales rose by 15%. Other cities saw steep contractions, including Hyderabad with a 23% decline, Pune with a 20% decline, and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region with an 18% decline. On the supply side, unsold housing inventory increased by 4% by the end of 2025, largely due to subdued demand combined with fresh project launches during the year. Currently, about 5.77 lakh unsold units remain available in the primary residential market across the top seven cities. Bengaluru stood out, recording a 23% increase in unsold inventory, indicating slower absorption relative to new supply additions. The year was marked by widespread disruptions, including geopolitical tensions, workforce reductions in the IT sector, trade-related uncertainties, and macroeconomic pressures. Sales volumes across major cities largely stabilized at around 4 lakh units, even as the overall value of housing sales continued to rise. A notable trend in 2025 was the increasing concentration of new supply in higher price segments. Over 21% of new residential launches during the year were priced above ?2.5 crore. This shift toward premium and luxury housing reflected developers’ focus on higher-margin projects amid rising land and construction costs. Residential price growth moderated in 2025. After recording double-digit annual increases in previous years, average price appreciation slowed to single digits across most cities. Collectively, residential prices in the top seven cities rose by 8% year-on-year. Only the National Capital Region recorded double-digit price growth at 23%, driven largely by a greater share of high-value housing supply. Other major cities saw single-digit price appreciation ranging from 4% to 9% in 2025, compared to 13% to 27% growth in 2024. In the National Capital Region, of the 61,775 new housing units launched during the year, more than 55% were priced above ?2.5 crore, reinforcing the shift toward luxury housing. Despite lower sales volumes, the overall value of residential transactions increased, supported by higher prices and sustained demand for premium homes. The total sales value of housing units rose by 6% year-on-year, increasing from ?5.68 lakh crore in 2024 to over ?6 lakh crore in 2025. Overall, while 2025 proved difficult for volume-driven growth in India’s housing market, the sector demonstrated resilience in terms of value, premium housing demand, and selective regional performance, with Chennai standing out as the sole major market to record positive sales growth during the year.
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