Demand for bigger apartments refuses to wane despite life returning to normalcy across the country - and rising residential prices. Latest ANAROCK data indicates that average flat sizes in top 7 cities have grown by 11% annually last year – from 1,175 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,300 sq. ft. in 2023. Back in 2021 and 2020, the average flat size across the top 7 cities were comparable to 2022 - 1,170 sq. ft. in 2021 and 1,167 sq. ft. in 2020.
A deep dive into the data across the top cities reveals that MMR and Kolkata were the only two cities where the average flat sizes decreased in the last one year.
In MMR, average flat sizes stood at 840 sq. ft. in 2022 and decreased to 794 sq. ft. in 2023 – a 5% yearly decline. However, over a 5-year period, avg. sizes in MMR were similar to 2019 at 784 sq. ft.
In Kolkata, avg. flat sizes saw a 2% yearly decline from 1,150 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,124 sq. ft. in 2023. However, over a 5-year period, avg. flat sizes have risen by 12% in the city. Avg. flat size in the city stood at 1,000 sq. ft. in 2019.
Among the top 7 cities, NCR saw the highest growth (37%) in average flat size in the last one year – from 1,375 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,890 sq. ft. in 2023. Developers in the region are actively tracking demand and launching larger homes - homebuyer demand is skewed significantly towards luxury apartments, which are primarily defined by bigger sizes.
Hyderabad has the highest average flat size in 2023 at 2,300 sq. ft., followed by NCR with 1,890 sq. ft.
In the other southern cities - Chennai and Bengaluru – average flat sizes are 1,260 and 1,484 sq. ft., respectively. Pune’s average flat size stood at 1,086 sq. ft. in 2023
On a yearly basis, there has been a 11% rise in avg. flat sizes in the top 7 cities in 2023 against 2022. The 5-year trend shows a 24% rise – from 1,050 sq. ft. in 2019 to 1,300 sq. ft. in 2023. NCR again saw the maximum rise of average flat sizes in 2023 with 51%, followed by Hyderabad with a 35% rise in this period.
In NCR, the average flat size increased from 1,375 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,890 sq. ft. in 2023, thus rising by 37% on a yearly basis. If we consider 5-yearly trends, avg. flat size jumped by 51% from 1,250 sq. ft. in 2019.
Avg. flat sizes in Hyderabad witnessed a 30% yearly increase, and a 35% 5-yearly rise. The avg. flat sizes in the city stood at 1,700 in 2019, 1,775 sq. ft. in 2022, and 2,300 sq. ft. in 2023.
In Bengaluru, the average flat size increased by 26% in the year - from 1,175 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,484 sq. ft. in 2023. On a 5-yearly basis, India’s Silicon Valley saw a 16% jump in avg. flat sizes, from 1,280 sq. ft. in 2019.
Avg. flat sizes in Pune saw a 11% yearly increase to 1,086 sq. ft. in 2023 from 980 sq. ft. back in 2022. In last five years, the city saw a 19% jump in avg. flat sizes. In 2019, it stood at 910 sq. ft.
Chennai saw a 5% yearly jump in avg. flat sizes – from 1,200 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,260 sq. ft. in 2023, and a 15% 5-yearly rise. The avg. flat size stood at 1,100 sq. ft. in 2019.
Kolkata and MMR were outliers, seeing a drop in avg. flat sizes in the year by 2% and 5%, respectively. In Kolkata, avg. flat sizes decreased from 1,150 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,124 sq. ft. in 2023, while in MMR it reduced from 840 sq. ft. in 2022 to 794 sq. ft. in 2023. However, on 5-yearly basis, the cities saw average sizes rise - in MMR by a mere 1% between 2019 and 2023, but a 12% increase in Chennai in the same period.
