Unsold affordable housing drops 19% in top 7 cities in Q1 2025, luxury stock rises 24%

By Jag Jivan*

India’s affordable housing segment witnessed a notable improvement in Q1 2025, with unsold inventory shrinking by 19% across the top 7 cities—from approximately 1.40 lakh units in Q1 2024 to 1.13 lakh units by Q1 2025-end, according to latest research by ANAROCK.

This sharp reduction is attributed to restricted new supply in the affordable segment (units priced below INR 40 lakh) over the past year, as developers shifted focus to mid-range and premium categories post-pandemic.

In contrast, unsold luxury housing stock (priced above INR 1.5 Cr) surged by 24%, rising from approx. 91,125 units in Q1 2024 to over 1.13 lakh units in Q1 2025, largely due to robust supply and investor caution amid global economic uncertainties.

Bengaluru led the affordable recovery with a massive 51% drop in unsold stock. Chennai followed with a 44% decline, while Hyderabad was the outlier, witnessing a 9% increase in its unsold affordable stock to 1,815 units. On the luxury front, Chennai (-4%) and Pune (-11%) were the only cities to register a decline in unsold inventory, while the remaining five cities saw an increase.

Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Group, commented, “Affordable housing bore the brunt of the pandemic, with its share in total housing sales dropping from 38% in 2019 to 18% in 2024, and supply share falling from 40% to 16% in the same period. However, the 19% dip in unsold stock now points to steady end-user demand.”

He added, “Luxury housing has performed exceptionally in recent years, with its sales share rising from 7% in 2019 to 26% in 2024. But the recent inventory build-up reflects rising supply and investor wariness.”

Mid-segment housing (INR 40–80 lakh) saw a 10% annual decline in unsold stock, from 1.75 lakh to 1.58 lakh units. Premium housing (INR 80 lakh–1.5 Cr) maintained status quo, with no significant change in inventory. Overall, unsold housing stock across all segments fell 4% year-on-year, from 5.81 lakh units to 5.60 lakh units.

As of Q1 2025-end, a total of 5.59 lakh units remain unsold across the top 7 cities. Of these, both the affordable (1.12 lakh units) and luxury (1.13 lakh units) segments individually contribute to nearly 20% of the total unsold inventory.

City-wise, MMR saw an 11% decline in affordable housing stock and a 6% increase in luxury stock. NCR witnessed a 22% drop in affordable stock and a sharp 78% jump in luxury units. Bengaluru’s affordable stock dropped 51%, while its luxury inventory rose by 57%. Chennai saw a 44% dip in affordable stock and a 4% drop in luxury. Pune recorded a 28% drop in affordable inventory and 11% decline in luxury stock. Kolkata’s affordable segment fell by 20%, but its luxury stock nearly doubled (up 96%). Hyderabad saw a 9% increase in affordable stock and a 6% rise in luxury inventory.

---

*Freelance writer

Comments

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Beyond sattvik: Purity, caste and the politics of the Indian kitchen

By Rajiv Shah A few week ago, I was forwarded an article that appeared in the British weekly The Economist . Titled “Caste and cuisine: From honeycomb curry to blood fry: India’s ‘untouchable’ cooking”, it took me back to what I had blogged about what was called a “ sattvik food festival”, an annual event organised by former Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad professor Anil Gupta.

Search This Blog