If you thought homes were already expensive, brace yourself. Housing prices across India’s biggest cities are rising sharply and buyers are having to stretch their budgets more than ever.
Fresh data from PropTiger shows property prices jumping 7% to 19% in the July to September quarter. The surge is being driven by a combination of strong appetite for premium homes, higher construction costs and a shortage of ready-to-move properties that buyers prefer.
Delhi-NCR has recorded the steepest rise with prices climbing 19% year-on-year to Rs 8,900 per square foot. New expressways, metro corridors and premium launches are reshaping the market and pushing overall rates higher.
Bengaluru follows close behind with prices up 15% to Rs 8,870 per square foot, helped by continued hiring in the tech sector and strong end-user demand. Hyderabad has posted 13% growth to Rs 7,750 per square foot as investors and NRIs keep driving momentum in the city’s residential market.
Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata have also seen solid price rises, indicating that India’s real estate revival is not limited to a handful of hotspots but is broad-based across major urban centres.
What is also striking is the shift in what people are buying. Home sales across these cities dipped 1% year-on-year, but the total value of homes sold jumped 14% to Rs 1.52 lakh crore. Buyers may be fewer in number, but those entering the market are clearly choosing bigger, better and costlier homes.
Developers, sensing this premium tilt, are moving carefully. New supply is only slightly lower than a year ago but is up more than 9% from the previous quarter. Most of the fresh launches are concentrated in the West and South, with Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad together accounting for nearly 60% of all new projects this quarter.
For homebuyers, the direction is clear. Prices are not slowing down, and sellers are holding the upper hand. With limited quality inventory and steady demand, any hope of a price correction may remain wishful for now.
The housing market’s confidence has returned in full force, and for those still hoping to buy, affordability is becoming a bigger battle with every passing quarter.