In south zone, Chennai and Bangalore have shown a slowdown, with sales numbers showing a drop of 15% and 5%, respectively, while Hyderabad witnessed a growth of 17% 

MUMBAI: In a sign that could signal the beginning of a recovery in the residential property market, housing sales across top eight Indian cities recorded a 13% jump in FY18. This growth, led by affordable housing and mid-income segments, comes after the market witnessed a 5% rise in sales last year. 

Of the key markets, Mumbai Metropolitan Region witnessed the maximum growth of 25%, showed data from Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research. 

Mumbai was followed by Delhi-National Capital Region with 19% increase in sales for the year. In south zone, Chennai and Bangalore have shown a slowdown, with sales numbers showing a drop of 15% and 5%, respectively, while Hyderabad witnessed a growth of 17%. 

Affordable housing continued to be the mainstay of demand as the contribution of this segment to the overall sales in tier I cities, including Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, stood at 18% during the fourth quarter ..“New launches are driving sales in all segments across the cities. Mostly mid-income and affordable housing are leading the sales. Various financing schemes, competitive pricing and modified configurations have been helping in the sales improvement,” said Pankaj Kapoor, MD, Liases Foras Real Estate Rating & Research. 

Lower home loan interest rates and necessary impetus by the government to affordable housing have played key roles in pushing sales. 

The Government has supported the housing sector through afforadable housing funds,lower Goods & Services Tax (GST) rates, increased tenure of loans under Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and extended income tax benefits to apartments of 645-sq-ft carpet area. 

During the year, we have sold a total of 925 apartments and that is over 75% improvement as against our 2016-17 performance. Out of these total 925 flats, 850 apartments are priced below Rs 50 lakh, which makes it clear that affordable housing is clicking,” said Ashok Chhajer, CMD, Arihant SuperstructuresNSE 3.86 %, which had launched three major projects in Navi Mumbai and Jodhpur during the year. 

According to Chhajer, the combination of compact sized apartments and around 10% lower prices has helped the company fetch good response to its launches.