Bengaluru residential market to recoverby 2020

Bengaluru’s residential property market saw a pickup in sales momentum in the first quarter of 2019 as well as a decline in unsold stocks, suggesting that a recovery may be in sight by next year. While the number of new launches saw a 96% jump compared to that in the corresponding period of 2018, sales increased 47%, according to real estate services firm JLL India. As per industry estimates, unsold stocks of more than 70,000 units were on the lower side compared to bigger property markets. Bengaluru-based Brigade Enterprises sold space aggregating to 0.96 million square feet during the quarter, with a total value of Rs 520 crore, up 23% from the year-ago period. For real estate developer Sobha, Bengaluru was the strongest residential market, with sales up 24% during the three-month period, with higher average realisation of Rs 8,152 per sq ft. Industry executives said that policy reforms such as setting up of the real estate regulator and implementation of the goods and services tax had delayed the sector recovery. They said that for the growth momentum to be sustained, liquidity issues owing to non-banking financing crisis and banks not lending to the sector need to be addressed.