New Delhi: Housing sales across major Indian cities experienced a 6 per cent year-on-year decline in the second quarter of 2026. According to Anarock’s tracker for the top seven cities, sales amounted to approximately 90,700 units, a decrease from 96,300 units in the previous year. Similarly, Proptiger’s Real Insight report, which includes data from eight cities, including Ahmedabad, reported a comparable decline, with sales at 91,729 units compared to 97,674 units in the second quarter of 2025.
Despite these figures suggesting a slowdown, additional data from the same period presents a contrasting narrative. New housing launches increased by 7 per cent, according to Anarock, and by 6 per cent, according to Proptiger. Furthermore, average residential prices rose 7 per cent annually across India, according to Anarock, while Proptiger reported a sales-weighted average price exceeding Rs 10,000 per square foot for the second consecutive quarter.Additionally, listed developers have projected presales of Rs 1.72 lakh crore for FY27, approximately 10 per cent higher than the current year.
This indicates that sellers were actively increasing construction, raising prices, and anticipating higher sales, even as buyer activity declined. This scenario does not align with a demand collapse but rather suggests a different economic phenomenon, which can be elucidated by two established economic theories, one of which is Nobel Prize-winning.Graphic by Shruti Naithani | ThePrint
