With a prolonged liquidity crisis in the non-banking finance company (NBFC) segment, real estate continued to reel under pressure in 2019, although the government came up with a slew of stimulus measures during the year. The steps to infuse liquidity and boost demand, however, have not made any noticeable impact so far, as sales declined in the second half of the year.
According to a report by Anarock Property Consultants, a total of 2.61 lakh units were sold during the year, a year-on-year growth of 5 per cent. Out of the overall sales during the year across seven major cities in the country, around 1.47 lakh flats were sold in the January-June period, and the remaining 1.14 lakh have been sold so far in the second half.
Despite the steps announced by the government, mostly in the second half of the year, sales during July-December declined by 22 per cent compared to the first half.
"The unrelenting liquidity crisis, lower-than-expected buyer sentiments and faltering GDP growth eventually put brakes on the overall housing growth in the second half of 2019," said Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants.