The residential market in India has seen a steady rise in both sales and launches in Jan - March 2021 period, Knight Frank, the leading real estate consultancy in the country said in its latest report on Monday

While launches were recorded at 76,006 units, sales were recorded at 71,963 units in the top eight cities of India, it said in its latest report. Quarterly sales volumes steadily improved since Q2 2020 and have surpassed the 2019 pre-Covid quarterly sales average in Q1 2021. "Considering that this is the second consecutive quarter to cross the 2019 quarterly sales average, we believe that the market is recovering well, if not having done so already," said Knight Frank India.

A total of 71,963 units were sold during Q1 2021, 44% more than in Q1 2020. This healthy growth in sales also encouraged developers to launch new projects which is reflected in the 76,006 units launched during the quarter, a substantial growth of 38% yearon-year. Mumbai and Pune led the table in both launches as well as sales. These two markets benefited from significant regulatory impetus in the form of discounts in stamp duty charges that led to significant improvement in sales velocity.

While end-users were keen on taking advantage of the reduced stamp duty regime, developers also thought it right to take advantage of the said growth to launch new projects. In the last few weeks of Q1 2021, Karnataka also doled out stamp duty sops to home buyers for residences costing upto Rs 45 crore.

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