Housing Sales Jumped 46%, Office Leasing Touched 13.5M Sq. Ft In Q3 2021

Housing sales jumped nearly 46% q-o-q to 50,000 units in Q3 2021 and sales rebounded by approximately 86 percent y-o-y on a year-to-date basis on the back of an attractive mortgage regime and government incentives. Office leasing activity reached 13.5 million sq. ft. in Q3 2021 growing at about 140 percent q-o-q, with the YTD number reaching 25 million sq. ft. for the key cities, says a report by CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd titled India Market Monitor - Q3 2021. With 3PL and E-commerce fuelling demand, the Industrial and Logistics leasing activity crossed 9 million sq. ft. in Q3 2021, growing at about 6 percent q-o-q and touching 23 million sq. ft. for nine months in 2021, it said. Pune led housing sales in Q3 2021 with 33 percent, followed by Mumbai (23 percent), Bengaluru (17 percent) and Hyderabad (13 percent). At 47 percent and 31 percent, mid-segment and affordable/ budget respectively were the dominant growth driver of sales in Q3 2021. New project launches jumped by nearly 37 percent q-o-q to reach 48,950 units in Q3 2021, the report said. Rental housing is expected to get a boost post the implementation of the Model Tenancy Act, thereby creating an alternate asset class for developers; fillip expected for co-living and student housing segments, it said. There will be an increased appetite from millennials and first-time homebuyers; larger unit sizes and plotted developments to gain momentum. Project execution capabilities and cashflow management would be critical; stress funds to witness increased traction, the report said. As for commercial spaces, the report said that recovery has strengthened after occupier decision making picked up. Supply addition in Q3 2021 touched nearly 13.5 million sq. ft. growing by about 30 percent q-o-q. Despite an increased appetite for hybrid work, the frequency of remote working is anticipated to be low (such as once a month); occupiers are also likely to determine their remote working eligibility post 'return-to-office' strategies, the report said. Medium-to-large sized deals dominated the leasing activity with a share of 55%. Bengaluru led I&L demand with a share of 32%, followed by Delhi (22%) and Mumbai (12%). Leasing momentum is expected to remain strong on the back of demand by 3PL players and e-commerce sectors, the report said.