Housing Sales Plunge 7% as West Asian Investors Halt Real Estate Investments in India
Hit by the ongoing conflict in West Asia, housing sales in the first quarter (January-March) of calendar year 2026 fell 7% quarter-on-quarter across India’s top seven cities to 101,675 units (worth Rs 1.51 lakh crore) in contrast to 108,970 units (worth Rs 1.60 lakh crore) sold in the preceding fourth quarter (October-December) of CY 2025, according to property consultant Anarock.
Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Group, said that while India’s residential segment’s long-term fundamentals remain strong, the short-term tremors of the Iran war were clearly visible in the first quarter. “The 7% dip in sales tracks the war-induced uncertainty, with sentiment and sales clearly affected by surging oil and construction prices - particularly in March. The decline also aligns with large numbers of prospective Middle Eastern homebuyers, who invest significantly in Indian real estate, hitting the pause button under the war cloud,” added Puri.
Given the low housing sales base in the corresponding period last year, Q1 2026 marked a 7% annual rise in sales across the top seven cities. Back in Q1 2025, 93,280 units worth Rs 1.42 lakh crore were sold in these cities. Thus, housing sales value is down by 5% quarter-on-quarter but has risen 6% annually.
City-wise, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Bengaluru accounted for 48% of total sales in this quarter. Interestingly, Chennai recorded the highest (18%) quarterly drop in housing sales, but also saw the highest yearly gain of 31%.
Meanwhile, new launches across the top seven cities saw a limited quarterly growth of 2% in Q1 2026 against the previous quarter, and a 26% yearly rise: from 1,23,835 units in Q4 2025 to 1,26,265 units in Q1 2026 and over 1 lakh units back in Q1 2025. MMR and Bengaluru saw the maximum new supply in Q1 2026, accounting for 51% of the total new launches across the top seven cities. Chennai, National Capital Region (NCR), Kolkata, and Pune saw a quarterly decline in new supply by 28%, 17%, 10%, and 9%, respectively. The other cities saw quarterly increases in new launches, with Hyderabad recording the highest 46% quarterly supply rise.
“Another key trend this quarter is that new launches have started outpacing sales, reversing the post-pandemic pattern when sales were usually higher,” added Puri. “As a result, unsold inventory has increased 4% quarter-on-quarter and 7% year-on-year, with total stock across the top 7 cities now above 6 lakh units.”
Average residential property prices across the top seven cities largely saw single-digit jumps in the last one year – with the notable exception of NCR, which recorded double-digit price growth ranging between 4-15% in Q1 2026 when compared to Q1 2025. MMR saw the highest housing sales of 32,800 units in Q1 2026, decreasing by 6% over Q4 2025.
