Hyderabad emerges as costliest city after NCR

Hyderabad: According to Knight Frank India’s Affordability Index, Hyderabad has overtaken Delhi NCR to become India’s second most expensive residential market. This index measures the proportion of income households need to allocate for monthly housing loan EMIs in a specific city. When this ratio exceeds 50%, banks typically avoid underwriting mortgages due to unaffordability.

Mumbai remains the most unaffordable city, although it has shown a slight improvement in affordability, decreasing from 53% in 2022 to 51% in 2023. Interestingly, Mumbai witnessed the highest sales in 2023, totaling about 153,870 units, followed closely by Pune with approximately 86,680 units sold. Despite its high cost, Hyderabad experienced a significant sales surge in 2023, marking a 30% increase in sales, reaching 61,715 units, while maintaining an unchanged affordability index of 30%.

Delhi NCR saw an improvement in affordability to 27% in 2023, but the sales numbers only increased by 3% to 65,625 units. Bengaluru and Chennai also showcased improvements in affordability, with both cities witnessing substantial sales spikes of 29% and 34%, respectively.

In a broader perspective, the collective sales of residential units across the seven major cities hit a decade-high of 476,530 in 2023, significantly surpassing previous records. Luxury housing demand has skyrocketed, evident from a fivefold increase in new luxury supply compared to 2018. Notably, 58 properties priced above Rs 40 crore were sold across these cities in 2023, a substantial increase from the 13 such sales recorded in 2022.

Mumbai led the high-end sales, with multiple units selling above Rs 40 crore, including a few exceeding Rs 200 crore. Delhi-NCR also had significant sales in this bracket, with at least four deals above Rs 40 crore, two each in Gurgaon and New Delhi. Hyderabad witnessed one residential deal priced at Rs 40 crore in Jubilee Hills.