NEW DELHI: According to a report from Knight Frank India, India’s eight leading residential markets recorded a total of 171,471 housing unit sales in H1 2026, marking a one percent increase year-over-year.
New housing launches reached 187,350 units during the same period, reflecting a four percent annual growth. Total sales for the year 2025 were 348,207 units, slightly lower compared to the previous year.
Knight Frank noted that the residential market is entering a phase of late-cycle consolidation, as sales stabilize after a four-year recovery period following the pandemic-induced downturn in 2020.
Mumbai continues to lead as the largest residential market, with 47,355 units sold in H1 2026, also a one percent increase year-on-year. Bengaluru saw the highest sales growth among the top eight cities at five percent, recording 27,968 units sold.
Pune’s sales reached 24,890 units, up two percent, while the NCR area saw a decline of seven percent year-on-year, totaling 24,862 units sold. Hyderabad’s sales stood at 19,249 units, a one percent increase.
Ahmedabad sold 9,581 units, Chennai 9,198 units, and Kolkata 8,368 units, each witnessing a growth of 2-3 percent.
On the supply front, Pune led with a 17 percent year-on-year increase in new launches, followed by an eight percent rise in Mumbai. Both NCR and Kolkata reported a five percent decline in new launches, while Hyderabad experienced a two percent drop.
The unsold inventory across the eight monitored markets increased by four percent year-on-year, reaching 525,695 units by the end of H1 2026. The average quarters-to-sell is now six, compared to 5.8 quarters at the close of 2025.
Mumbai has the highest unsold inventory at 157,410 units, followed by NCR with 103,984 units, and Bengaluru at 74,299 units.
Ahmedabad has the longest quarters-to-sell at 8.1 quarters, followed closely by NCR at 7.9 quarters, and Mumbai at 6.5 quarters. Chennai and Kolkata recorded the shortest quarters-to-sell at 4.4 quarters each.
In terms of pricing, homes priced above ₹1 crore constituted 54 percent of total sales in H1 2026, up from 49 percent in H1 2025. Knight Frank attributes this shift to rising demand for premium homes and inventory moving into higher price segments due to consistent price appreciation.
The segment priced between ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore saw a significant 43 percent increase in unsold inventory, totaling 65,671 units; however, this group made up 20 percent of total sales, with a quarters-to-sell of 4.4.
For the affordable segment, unsold inventory below ₹50 lakh decreased by seven percent year-on-year to 171,363 units, while the ₹50 lakh-₹1 crore segment saw a three percent decline, totaling 134,841 units.
Residential prices increased in all monitored markets during H1 2026. Faridabad and Delhi exhibited the highest 12-month price growth at 18 percent each, followed by Ghaziabad at 15 percent, Bengaluru at nine percent, Noida at eight percent, and Hyderabad at seven percent.
Gurugram and Greater Noida experienced six percent price growth, while Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Kolkata each reported five percent appreciation.
The report indicates that new launches outpaced sales in H1 2026 by around 15,879 units. If this trend continues in H2 2026, inventory pressure may escalate.
