The residential real estate segment has shown resilience across 2021 with higher sales trends. Even though the home buying sentiments were dented in the second quarter due to the second wave of Covid, the sector bounced back by the end of the year, finds a report by real estate analysts Square Yards. New residential units launched were a healthy 16 per cent higher in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter. In terms of configuration, 43 per cent searches were for 3BHK units, according to the report.
There has been a consistent growth in demand for extra space in the form of an added room, flex rooms or oversized balconies, thanks to the changed working and living circumstances in the Covid era. For instance, more than 40 per cent of the total property searches in 2021 were for 3BHK and larger configurations homes. Further, 35 per cent of the online property seekers looked for homes of sizes between 1,000 and 2,000 sq. feet. This is a considerable shift from the pattern noted in 2020 when only 20 per cent property seekers were looking at these sizes. However, homes sized less than 1,000 sq. ft were the most searched online.
This shift meant higher popularity for larger ticket sizes. While mid-segment housing still drives significant demand, properties priced above Rs 1 crore formed 33 per cent of total online searches in Q4, a rise of 6 per cent from the first quarter of 2021, the report noted.
Mumbai, followed by Bengaluru, was the most popular cities for rental accommodation in 2021. Moreover, almost 70 per cent of searches for rental homes were concentrated on homes less than 1,000 sq. ft. However, the 'sweet spot' for rental homes was at Rs 10,000-20,000 per month. The segment saw a constant 45 per cent search level throughout 2021.
Though home buyers were hunting for more spacious homes in 2021, affordability remained the primary determinant. However, the definition of affordability differed from one segment of buyers to another. About half of the total transactions in the last quarter were for 2BHK units.
The supply-demand trends for mid-segment housing were more aligned in 2021 than expected. However, the same does not hold for the other ticket sizes. In Q4, while the demand remained a little skewed towards premium housing, the inventory available still consisted of about one-third of residential units in the affordable segment, the Square Yards report stated.
Another indicator of improved sentiment in the realty sector is that in the last quarter of 2021, more than 50,000 new residential units were launched in the top six cities included in the study (Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad). While 26 per cent of the new launches were in the larger Mumbai region, an almost equal share (24 per cent) of new units was launched in Hyderabad.
