Home sales slow, launches rise: Is India's housing market losing steam?

Home sales are no longer rising at the same pace, even as developers continue to launch new projects. The latest numbers point to a changing dynamic in India's housing market.

In Short

• India's home sales flat at 2,58,238 units Jan-Sep 2026
• Delhi-NCR sales drop 11%, premium segment down 39%
• Mumbai and Bengaluru see slight sales growth, others mixed

India’s residential real estate market is showing signs of slowing down, with home sales remaining largely flat in the first nine months of 2026.

At the same time, new launches have continued to outpace sales, while homes are taking longer to sell. Delhi-NCR has seen the sharpest fall in sales among the country’s major markets.

According to the latest report by Knight Frank India, residential sales across eight major cities stood at 2,58,238 units between January and September 2026. This was almost unchanged from the same period last year.

NEW LAUNCHES CONTINUE TO OUTPACE SALES

Developers launched 2,79,899 new homes between January and September 2026, up 4% from a year earlier.

New launches have now remained higher than sales for the 16th consecutive quarter. This is also putting pressure on inventory levels.

The average time taken to sell a home, measured by quarters to sell, increased from 5.8 quarters in Q3 2025 to 6.1 quarters in Q3 2026.

This was the fourth consecutive quarterly increase and the highest level since Q2 2023.

In simple terms, homes are still selling, but they are taking longer to find buyers. This points to rising inventory and slower absorption in the market.

NCR SEES 11% FALL IN HOME SALES

Delhi-NCR is facing more pressure than other major markets.

Between January and September 2026, 35,574 homes were sold in NCR, down 11% from the same period last year. According to the report, NCR was the only one among the eight major markets to record a fall in residential sales.

The decline was particularly sharp in the premium segment.

Sales of homes priced between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore fell 39% to 4,033 units. In comparison, 5,002 homes in this price range were launched during the same period.

This means developers launched more homes in the segment than were sold.

Gurgaon accounted for 57% of NCR’s unsold housing inventory, according to the report.

MUMBAI, BENGALURU SEE SALES GROWTH

The slowdown has not been uniform across all cities.

Mumbai recorded sales of 72,804 homes during the first nine months of 2026, up 1% from a year earlier. Bengaluru saw sales rise 5% to 43,140 units.

Kolkata recorded a 4% increase in sales, while Hyderabad and Ahmedabad saw sales rise 2% each. Pune, meanwhile, remained almost flat compared with last year.

This shows that housing demand has not weakened across the board. The pace of the market continues to vary across cities and price segments.

HOMES BELOW RS 50 LAKH SEE SHARPER FALL

The affordable and lower-priced segments have seen a bigger slowdown.

Sales of homes priced below Rs 50 lakh fell 14% to 47,660 units in the first nine months of 2026.

The Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore segment also saw sales fall, with a decline of 5.9%.

The picture was different for higher-priced homes. Sales of homes priced between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore rose 6.8% to 77,087 units.

Sales in the Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore segment increased 19.4%.

As a result, homes priced above Rs 1 crore now account for 55% of total residential sales, up from 50% earlier.

HOME PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE

Despite the slower pace of sales, home prices have not started falling.

The report said residential prices increased across all the markets it tracked in Q3 2026. In most cities, excluding NCR and Bengaluru, annual price growth was between 3% and 6%.

Within NCR, Gurgaon recorded a 4% rise in prices, while Noida saw prices increase 7%. Greater Noida recorded an 11% rise and Ghaziabad saw prices increase 14%.

So, the current real estate story is not about falling prices. Instead, it is about slower sales, homes taking longer to sell and rising inventory pressure in some segments.

According to the report, the upcoming festive season and the RBI’s October policy will be important for the direction of the residential real estate market.

- Ends