Housing sales in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) increased by 5% to touch 1.32 lakh in FY24 from 1.25 lakh in FY23. Unsold inventory too went up by 5% in MMR to touch 6.05 lakh in FY24 from 5.76 lakh in FY23, according to data shared by CREDAI-MCHI, the apex body of the real estate sector and CRE Matrix, a real estate consultancy firm on July 1.
The report also noted that launches in the entire MMR region went down by 22% to 1.61 lakh in FY24 from 2.07 lakh in FY23.
Is the Navi Mumbai real estate market on fire?
Navi Mumbai witnessed the highest spike in unsold inventory in MMR which went up by 63% to touch 9,037 units in FY24 from 5,559 units in FY23. Sales in Navi Mumbai increased by 22% to 2,426 in FY24 from 1,982 in FY23, the report showed.
Interestingly, Navi Mumbai was the only location in MMR where launches increased compared to other localities. The number of launches increased in Navi Mumbai to 5,904 in FY24 from 3,834 in FY23.
The increase can be attributed to improvement in infrastructure such as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu, popularly known as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL), connecting Navi Mumbai with South Mumbai, real estate experts told HT Digital.
Navi Mumbai also witnessed a 22% increase in sales, bolstered by improved connectivity and infrastructure developments such as the MTHL and Navi Mumbai Airport. Despite these factors, the report notes a 63% rise in unsold inventory in Navi Mumbai, primarily due to the high volume of recent launches, said the report.
South Mumbai’s luxury projects witness maximum sales
On a Y-o-Y basis, the South Mumbai real estate market witnessed a growth of 41% in terms of sales for FY’24 when compared to FY’23. The number of housing units sold went up to 2,154 from 1,525, the report said.
The unsold inventory on the other hand in south Mumbai witnessed a marginal 2% increase in FY24 to touch 13,814 from 14,141 units.
“Despite a slight decline in growth rate of housing sales as expected, MMR still scaled a new peak in housing demand in FY ’24. The demand to supply ratio in MMR has never been this high. Despite a 22% decline in launches, we saw a 5% growth in sales. Demand across macro-markets which contribute the most – eastern suburbs, western suburbs, Thane City – remained strong. The Navi Mumbai story is unfolding now with the Atal Setu effect kicking in,” said Abhishek Kiran Gupta, CEO and co-founder of CRE Matrix.
“With the Aqua line of Metro also known as Colaba-Seepz Metro-3 launching this year, we expect more hectic activity in regions benefitting from this development,” Gupta added.
Sales remain strong in suburban real estate markets of Mumbai
In eastern suburbs of Mumbai covering areas like Mulund, Bhandup, Ghatkopar, sales were up almost 9% in FY’24 to 15,110 units from 13,907 in FY23.
Further, housing launches dipped by 30% to 12,578 in FY24 from 17,879 in FY23. The unsold inventory on the other hand fell by 5% to 47,347 units from 49,879 units.
In the case of western suburbs, the sales went up by 13% to 19,181 from 17,036 units in FY23. The launches on the other hand fell by 35% to 20,449 from 31,682 units in FY23. Unsold inventory in FY24 too increased by 2% to 68,862 units from 67,954 units.
The Thane real estate market on the other hand, witnessed a 9% increase in sales while launches went down by 36% and unsold inventory dipped by 2%, the report showed.
Is the rising unsold inventory in MMR a cause of concern?
According to experts, the rising unsold inventory in the MMR real estate market is not alarming, except for a few pockets in Mumbai.
“Sales in FY24 have gone up and so has unsold inventory by 5% each as per the report we released. On the other hand, launches have gone down. Overall, it is a healthy scenario where the market is consuming much of the stock that is being launched. But developers launching new projects now will have to launch the right product to ensure that they don’t get trapped,” said Gupta.
“I am not worried about Thane, Palghar, Panvel . The cost of units is below ₹1 crore and selling that is not much of a challenge. However, developers launching products priced above ₹4 crore, especially in Mumbai, have to be cautious and study the market before launching. If they do not keep up the sales momentum right now by launching the right product, unsold inventory will go up anyway irrespective of the launches going down,” Gupta added.