Indian housing market slumps to three-year low as post-pandemic euphoria hits a wall

By Jag Jivan
India’s once-unstoppable residential real estate rally has hit a significant roadblock, as new data reveals that housing sales in 2025 plummeted to their lowest levels since 2022. According to the report by , the sector is grappling with a cooling demand cycle that has seen annual sales tank by 12%, dropping to 3,86,365 units from the high of 4,36,992 units recorded just a year prior.

This downturn was capped by a dismal fourth quarter, where sales contracted by 10% year-on-year, marking the weakest quarterly performance since early 2023 and signaling that the has officially exhausted its momentum.
The crisis of slowing demand is being exacerbated by a sharp deceleration in price growth, which has left investors and developers in a state of "measured caution." After a staggering 17% price surge in 2024, the average growth across the top eight cities slowed to a mere 6% in 2025. The most dramatic corrections occurred in the National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR), where price growth evaporated from a massive 49% in 2024 to just 6% this year, and in , where values remained entirely flat. followed closely behind with a negligible 1% uptick, a far cry from the 16% growth it enjoyed previously.

While managed to buck the trend with a 13% annual price increase—even overtaking Delhi-NCR to become —its own quarterly sales dipped significantly in the second half of the year, underscoring a broader national trend of buyer fatigue.

On the supply side, developers have been forced into an aggressive "calibrated retreat." Total new housing supply fell by 6% to 3,61,096 units in 2025, the lowest volume of new launches seen since 2021. This proactive supply discipline—characterized by developers choosing to hold back new projects rather than risk —has prevented a total market crash, yet it reveals a deep-seated anxiety regarding future absorption.

and Pune were particularly hard hit, posting devastating annual sales declines of 26% and 27%, respectively. Even in markets like , sales softened sequentially throughout every single quarter of the year, ending on its lowest quarterly volume in Q4.

Critically, the market is witnessing a widening "affordability gap" as developers pivot toward to protect margins. A disproportionate share of remaining unsold inventory is now concentrated in high-ticket projects, where decision cycles are longer and liquidity is lower.

While , Executive Director of , describes the current climate as a transition to a "mature, execution-led phase," the data paints a more precarious picture of a sector struggling to find a new floor. With home sales value still rising due to premiumization even as volumes shrink, the industry enters 2026 facing a structural mismatch between soaring property prices and the actual purchasing power of the average Indian homebuyer.
Comparative City-wise Residential Sales: 2024 vs. 2025
The following table highlights the significant drop in sales volumes across major Indian markets, showcasing the transition from 2024's peak to the moderated levels of 2025:

Key Observations
- Western Market Slump: Mumbai and Pune saw the most drastic corrections, with both cities losing over a quarter of their sales volume compared to the previous year.
- Southern Resilience: Chennai and Bengaluru were the standout performers, with Chennai's sales skyrocketing by 55%, largely due to a stable end-user base and a .
- Three-Year Low: At a national level, the combined sales of 3.86 lakh units represent the lowest annual transaction volume for the Indian residential sector since 2022.

Comments

Countrywide protest by gig workers puts spotlight on algorithmic exploitation

By A Representative A nationwide protest led largely by women gig and platform workers was held across several states on February 3, with the Gig & Platform Service Workers Union (GIPSWU) claiming the mobilisation as a success and a strong assertion of workers’ rights against what it described as widespread exploitation by digital platform companies. Demonstrations took place in Delhi, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra and other states, covering major cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with multiple districts across the country.

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.

Budget 2026 focuses on pharma and medical tourism, overlooks public health needs: JSAI

By A Representative Jan Swasthya Abhiyan India (JSAI) has criticised the Union Budget 2026, stating that it overlooks core public health needs while prioritising the pharmaceutical industry, private healthcare, medical tourism, public-private partnerships, and exports related to AYUSH systems. In a press note issued from New Delhi, the public health network said that primary healthcare services and public health infrastructure continue to remain underfunded despite repeated policy assurances.

'Gandhi Talks': Cinema that dares to be quiet, where music, image and silence speak

By Vikas Meshram In today’s digital age, where reels and short videos dominate attention spans, watching a silent film for over two hours feels almost like an act of resistance. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, “Gandhi Talks” is a bold cinematic experiment that turns silence into language and wordlessness into a powerful storytelling device. The film is not mere entertainment; it is an experience that pushes the viewer inward, compelling reflection on life, values, and society.

When compassion turns lethal: Euthanasia and the fear of becoming a burden

By Deepika A 55-year-old acquaintance passed away recently after a long battle with cancer. Why so many people are dying relatively young is a question being raised in several forums, and that debate is best reserved for another day. This individual was kept on a ventilator for nearly five months, after which the doctors and the family finally decided to let go. The cost of keeping a person on life support for such extended periods is enormous. Yet families continue to spend vast sums even when the chances of survival are minimal. Life, we are told, is precious, and nature itself strives to protect and sustain it.

Report exposes human rights gaps in India's $36 billion garment export industry

By Jag Jivan A new report sheds light on the urgent human rights challenges within India’s vast textile and garment industry, as global regulations increasingly demand corporate accountability in supply chains. Titled “Beneath the Seams,” the study reveals that despite the sector employing over 45 million people, systemic issues of poverty wages, unfair purchasing practices, and the exclusion of workers from decision-making persist, leaving millions vulnerable.

When resistance became administrative: How I learned to stop romanticising the labour movement

By Rohit Chauhan* On my first day at a labour rights NGO, I was given a monthly sales target: sixty memberships. Not sixty workers to organise, not sixty conversations about exploitation, not sixty political discussions. Sixty conversions. I remember staring at the whiteboard, wondering whether I had mistakenly walked into a multi-level marketing office instead of a trade union. The language was corporate, the urgency managerial, and the tone unmistakably transactional. It was my formal introduction to a strange truth I would slowly learn: in contemporary India, even rebellion runs on performance metrics.

Silencing the university: How fear is replacing debate in academic India

By Sunil Kyumar* “Republic Day is a powerful symbol of our freedom, Constitution, and democratic values. This festival gives us renewed energy and inspiration to move forward together with the resolve of nation-building”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 26, 2026. On this occasion, the Prime Minister also shared a Sanskrit subhashita— “Paratantryābhibhūtasya deśasyābhyudayaḥ kutaḥ. Ataḥ svātantryamāptavyaṁ aikyaṁ svātantryasādhanam.”

Penpa Tsering’s leadership and record under scrutiny amidst Tibetan exile elections

By Tseten Lhundup* Within the Tibetan exile community, Penpa Tsering is often described as having risen through grassroots engagement. Born in 1967, he comes from an ordinary Tibetan family, pursued higher education at Delhi University in India, and went on to serve as Speaker of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile from 2008 to 2016. In 2021, he was elected Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), becoming the second democratically elected political leader of the administration after Lobsang Sangay.

Search This Blog