www.99acres.com PUNE RESIDENTIAL MARKET UPDATE APRIL - JUNE 2020 Market Sentiment INSITE 99acres India’s No.1 Property Portal FROM CBO’S DESK A drastic drop in the number of new providing some relief from the residential launches and poor sales volume COVID-19-induced crisis. After some defined the ‘real’ story of residential setbacks, the traffic and responses on realty across metro cities in Apr-Jun 2020. 99acres returned to pre-COVID levels by Shortage of construction workers, liquidity the end of June 2020. A survey by 99acres constraints faced by developers and the revealed that 75 percent of its registered withdrawal of homebuyers impacted market buyers now prefer shortlisting or buying sentiment adversely. a property through real estate portals. Further, 60 percent of the participants Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad lost averred that they would prefer undertaking the largest share of new launches and a virtual tour before physically visiting the reported a dip of 80-95 percent, each, project site. QoQ. Cumulatively, the period witnessed an addition of a mere 1,400 units in the Nonetheless, to witness a complete revival, top eight metros. The ensuing credit the industry would need more support from crunch with both buyers and developers the Centre beyond measures such as home is expected to shrink housing sales from loan moratorium and declaring COVID-19 as four lakh units in 2019-20 to 2.8 lakh units a Force Majeure event to witness revival. in 2020-21. While all metro cities reported status quo in average weighted capital prices, experts foresee average ‘asks’ in the resale segment dipping by an average of 10-15 percent in the months to come. To sustain businesses, several developers Maneesh Upadhyaya underwent digital transformation with Chief Business Officer virtual project launches and e-site visits 99acres.com COVID-19 AND NATIONAL REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK HOME BUYING SENTIMENT Home buying sentiment remained muted during April due to the nationwide lockdown; with enquiries picking up slight pace in June. Genuine homebuyers flocked the market looking for attractive schemes and discounts. NRI demand, too, resurged, with some conversions in the mid-income housing bracket across cities. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY The COVID-19 crisis disrupted the supply chain of realty raw materials, and led to reverse migration of labourers and fund constraints PROPERTY PRICES at developers’ end. The sector went through a major digital While the negotiation window widened up to 10-15 percent transformation as developers shifted online to market their projects across budget segments, any actual correction in prices was and engage with customers, and Government bodies, such as NCLAT not noticed. Barring Delhi NCR, all metros maintained status and RERA started addressing homebuyers online. quo in average weighted capital ‘asks’, QoQ. With wafer-thin The Apr-Jun 2020 quarter saw the lowest number of new launches margins at the hand of developers, any price correction in since 2013 and sales remained 75 percent lower than the previous future is unlikely. quarter. Invoking of Force Majeure brought some relief as ongoing projects got up to a nine-month extension under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The suspension of Insolvency RENTAL LANDSCAPE and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for a year, too, is a relief for developers. Amid restrictions to move around, the rental market remained intact in Apr-Jun 2020. There was no movement in average ‘asks’ across cities, except for some discounts and IMPACT ON HOMEBUYERS leeway offered by property owners to support the tenants With ongoing projects delayed by at least six months, homebuyers struggling financially. PG accommodations and guesthouses expecting possessions received a setback. Job losses and pay cuts took the brunt as people moved to their hometowns due to affected the paying capacity of homebuyers, who shelved their buying an extended lockdown. decisions in the wake of market uncertainties and expectations of price cuts. While reduced home loan interest rates from most banks make it an opportune time to invest in real estate, a large share of prospective SUPPLY homebuyers await more clarity in the ensuing months. New project launches remained nil during the quarter and progress on ongoing projects suffered on account of reverse The extension of the Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under migration of labourers and disruptions in the supply chain. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) might be a benefit for those Property owners unwilling to sell at a reduced price exited looking for affordable homes. Existing homeowners welcome home from the secondary market. Unsold inventory stood at 6 lakh loan moratorium of six months announced by the Government in April. units at the end of Apr-Jun 2020. 99acres INSITE : PUNE 5 India’s No.1 Property Portal MARKET MOVERS Infrastructure projects take a hit Temporary suspension of crucial infrastructure projects, such as the High Capacity Mass Transport Route (HCMTR), two grade separators and Sarasbaug redevelopment project, due to the labour shortage and financial strain post the nationwide lockdown may slacken the realty growth in the neighbouring localities. Work on Shivajinagar-Hinjewadi Metro corridor also moved at a slow pace in the quarter. Deadline for tax amnesty scheme increases by a month The extension of the tax amnesty scheme until June 30 came as a respite to property owners. Until May 2020, about 673 properties were registered in Pune, generating revenue of around Rs 20 crore, which is close to 60 percent of the last year’s tax receipts. Slum redevelopment gains steam COMMERCIAL The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) undertook slum redevelopment projects in Bhavani Peth, Kasewadi, Harkanagar, Parvati and Yerwada. REAL ESTATE Apart from benefitting about 11 lakh people, the move would decongest these areas and create new residential opportunities. OUTLOOK Construction activities commence in • The financial crisis took a hit on the expansion plans of commercial non-containment zones operators. Despite flexible payment and subvention plans being rolled The resumption of construction activities in the non-containment zones out by developers, office space leasing declined across board. offered a big respite to the developers. While disrupted supply chain of raw • Compact spaces up to 1,500 sq ft witnessed a revival in enquiries in materials and labour shortage have been a few challenges before builders, Baner, Hinjewadi and Wakad; however, with investors anticipating around attempts are being made to cover for the lost days. 20-30 percent price cut, deal conversions remained low. • Remote working coupled with the IT/ITeS firms scaling down their business operations impaired the demand in the otherwise popular co-working segment. Around 25 percent of the start-ups in Pune temporarily halted their operations or closed down in Apr-Jun 2020. • Mapletree leased seven lakh sq ft of office space in a logistics park in Chakan. This was the only major commercial deal that materialised in Pune. Pre-leasing, a popular trend until the last quarter, took a backseat, 99acres resulting in a glut of Grade A spaces in the East and West Pune. India’s No.1 Property Portal INSITE : Pune 7 * Capital values represent quarterly change * Rental values represent yearly change * Supply is basis properties listed on 99acres.com PUNE’S REALTY AT A GLANCE Property Rental Prices ‘Asks’ Price movement in key micro-markets Localities Apr-Jun 2020 QoQ YoY Rental % Change % Change Yield Wagholi Rs 3,900 - 4,900 4% 8% 3% Demand Supply Baner Rs 6,900 - 7,900 -1% 3% 3% Hadapsar Rs 4,880 - 6,710 1% 2% 0% Hinjewadi Rs 5,240 - 6,010 1% 0% 3% Undri Rs 4,630 - 5,480 2% 2% 3% Kothrud Rs 8,600 - 10,600 1% 1% 2% * Property prices represent quarterly change * Rental ‘asks’ represent yearly change * Supply is basis properties listed on 99acres.com * Demand is basis queries received on 99acres.com Kharadi Rs 6,200 - 7,400 1% -2% 3% Wakad Rs 5,980 - 6,970 -1% 0% 3% Balewadi Rs 6,690 - 7,630 -1% 1% 3% Pimple Saudagar Rs 6,900 - 7,470 2% 0% 3% * Average ‘ask’ rates have been calculated as per listings posted on 99acres.com ** Rental Yield has been calculated for a 1,000 sq ft apartment INSITE : Pune 9 99acres DEMAND & SUPPLY India’s No.1 Property Portal DYNAMICS 99ACRES’ 18% OUTLOOK 12% Over two months of lockdown and staggered re-opening of construction activity led to several disruptions in the realty market of Pune in Apr-Jun 2020. The city recorded about 40 percent dip in the residential enquiries; however, quality leads from genuine buyers emerged 37% as a silver lining. The fiscal crisis and demand slippage narrowed down the conversions to less than 50 percent. 34% Close to 1,800 units were sold in Apr-Jun 2020 as 51% opposed to 5,000 properties in Jan-Mar 2020. Barring a few virtual launches by Category A developers, such as Puravankara, Kolte Patil and Godrej, majority of the builders deferred their new project announcements, resulting in about 65 percent decline in the inventory 48% addition, QoQ. Around 16 projects, including phases were launched in the studied period. Investors leveraging the ongoing sentiment occupied nearly 25 percent of the demand share as against 5-10 percent in the pre-COVID world. Grade A projects with an increased focus on hygiene amenities, including in-built fogging equipment, multi-tier water filtration and contemporary cleaning devices, garnered traction Demand Supply irrespective of 1-2 percent higher maintenance cost. Affordable Housing Unsold inventory in Pune in the quarter ending June (Within Rs 40 lakh) Mid-income Housing 2020 stood at approximately 96,500 units. The number (Rs 40 lakh - Rs 1 crore) of months required to dispose of the current residential Luxury Housing stock is 12.