Housing Market Holds Steady in Q2 2026 with 91,729 Units Sold Across Top Eight Cities: Study
New Delhi, August 19, 2026: India’s residential real estate market maintained a steady course during the second quarter of 2026, recording 91,729 home sales against 89,161 new launches across the top eight cities, according to the latest Real Insight Residential report released by PropTiger.com, a subsidiary of Aurum PropTech Limited. Although supply and sales experienced sequential drops of 4.2% and 4.4% respectively, the sales-weighted average price moved up 1.0% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 10,153 per square foot, marking the second consecutive quarter that prices stayed above the Rs 10,000 baseline.
On an annual basis, new launches grew by 6.0% compared to the 84,138 units launched in Q2 2025, even as overall sales moderated by 6.1% from a previous peak of 97,674 units. Sales continued to outpace new inventory additions, keeping overall demand and supply in balance and preventing inventory accumulation. The quarterly moderation was largely linked to pre-monsoon seasonal trends and buyer caution connected to the US–Iran conflict. The impact was most prominent in technology-driven hubs such as Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad, where corporate restructuring and tech sector layoffs affected buyer sentiment in the sub-Rs 1 crore market segment.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) remained the country’s largest market in both total volume and value, recording 24,112 units sold and an average price of Rs 15,422 per square foot, reflecting a 20.4% year-on-year price increase. Bengaluru led the top cities in price appreciation, posting a 26.0% annual surge to Rs 9,931 per square foot, despite a 9.2% dip in total sales. Pune crossed the Rs 8,000 threshold for the first time, reaching Rs 8,084 per square foot with a 13.7% annual growth. Ahmedabad, remaining the most affordable among the top eight markets at Rs 5,295 per square foot, recorded the highest sequential price increase at 7.0%.
Kolkata delivered the strongest quarter-on-quarter sales recovery in the nation, surging 22.0% following a post-election rebound. Chennai recorded a 36.0% annual growth in sales, even though its new project launches fell 43.3% compared to the same period last year. Delhi-NCR and Hyderabad displayed steady momentum, with Hyderabad registering a 21.6% annual rise in new supply, supported by its expanding technology, pharmaceutical, and data centre industries.
Macroeconomic stability was aided by the Reserve Bank of India holding the repo rate at 5.25%, alongside moderating inflation and continued public infrastructure spending. GST rate reductions on cement, from 28% to 18%, and on marble and granite, from 12% to 5%, provided real estate developers with a 2% to 3% buffer on construction costs, absorbing expenses rather than driving down retail prices as home values increased nationwide.
“Q2 2026 confirms India’s residential market is maturing, not weakening,” said Prakash Tejwani, CEO of PropTiger.com. “Prices have held above Rs 10,000 per square foot for two straight quarters even as buyers turn more selective. Kolkata and Chennai are showing genuine demand-led recovery, while Bengaluru and Pune continue to command pricing power despite tech-sector caution. Disciplined supply positions developers well for the festive quarter, though affordability remains the key variable to watch.”
Looking ahead to the third quarter of 2026, the report anticipates demand to be boosted by the upcoming festive season, sustained momentum in Kolkata, normalizing supply in Chennai, and continued activity in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. Major infrastructure projects nearing completion, such as Phase 3 of the Bengaluru Metro, the Pune Line 3 extension, and Chennai Metro Phase 2, are expected to support buyer interest. However, with annual price increases ranging from 4.4% in Chennai to 26.0% in Bengaluru straining mid-income household budgets, the market report noted that the upcoming festive period will serve as the year’s primary demand benchmark.
