West Asia Conflict Poses Threat to Delivery of 540,000 Indian Housing Units

Around 540,000 housing units across India’s Tier-I markets face delivery delays as the West Asia conflict continues to disrupt global trade routes, commodity markets, and supply chains, said a report on Thursday.

However, housing demand remains resilient and project financing is better than in previous cycles, according to the report by realty consultancy Anarock.

It comes at a time when a record 540,000 housing units are expected to be delivered across India’s top seven markets this year: Delhi, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

Residential projects launched between 2021 and 2023 are now entering their final stages of construction, creating an unprecedented completion pipeline across the country’s leading housing markets, the report said.

The pipeline is now at risk of derailment due to the West Asia conflict. MMR and Pune are expected to be the worst-hit. The two places collectively account for 57 per cent of homes due for completion this year.

Approximately 207,300 units are scheduled for delivery over the year in MMR, while Pune expects 100,300 units to be delivered, the report said.

Similarly, the delivery of more than 168,000 units is also expected to be hit in the southern markets of Bengaluru (69,000), Hyderabad (63,700) and Chennai (35,600) this year.

Market watchers say that ambitious housing supply pipelines are vulnerable to external shocks, leading to gaps in scheduled and actual completions in a year.

According to Anarock Research, around 466,000 homes were scheduled for completion in the seven cities during the pandemic-hit 2020. However, only about 214,000 units, or 46 per cent of the planned pipeline, were ultimately delivered as construction came to a halt due to lockdowns, labour migration, and supply chain disruptions.

The situation is different from the pandemic, but Prashant Thakur, executive director and head of research and advisory at Anarock, said that a prolonged geopolitical conflict can affect projects through higher energy, logistics, and construction material costs.

The challenges are only partially mitigated by stronger balance sheets and tech-improved project monitoring. Tighter regulatory oversight under RERA demands time-bound delivery, he added.