India’s residential market holds steady in third quarter of 2026

India’s residential market held steady in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026. Sales across the eight tracked cities totalled 86,767 units, 1% lower YoY and flat QoQ, taking nine-month sales to 258,238 units, level with 2025. Excluding Delhi-NCR, sales in the other seven markets rose 2% YoY, while NCR fell 17%.

The market is consolidating rather than retreating, but its weak points are becoming more concentrated, according to a survey by Knight Frank India.

The macroeconomic backdrop remains supportive, though monetary policy is no longer adding momentum. Residential launches exceeded sales for the 16th consecutive quarter, with 92,549 units added in Q3, 4% more than a year earlier. The quarterly gap narrowed to 5,782 units from 10,028 in Q1, suggesting developers are aligning supply with sales, though over nine months launches have outpaced sales by 21,661 units. Supply is increasingly following local demand: launches rose 24% YoY in Hyderabad and 23% in Mumbai, but fell 11% in Pune, where sales declined 5%, and 5% in NCR. Sales grew 6% in Kolkata and 4% in Bengaluru, while Chennai and Ahmedabad were broadly flat.

Sales fell 17% YoY to 10,712 units, the lowest quarterly total since Q3 2021, and the region has not recorded YoY growth in any quarter since Q1 2024. The decline is concentrated at the top end of this premium-weighted market, where 86% of sales are priced above INR 10 million. Sales in the INR 50-100 million segment, which expanded more than fourfold between 2022 and 2025, fell 63% YoY to 925 units, while unsold stock in the segment rose 33%. Prices have plateaued, and annual growth in Gurugram has slowed to 4% from 32%. Given NCR’s historically higher investor participation, this is consistent with investor-led demand stifling at prices end-users cannot sustain. Inventory is broadly flat, but QTS has climbed to 8.0 quarters from 7.3.

The shift toward higher ticket sizes continued. Homes priced above INR 10 million accounted for 56% of sales, up from 51%, while sales below INR 10 million fell 10% YoY. The INR 10-20 million segment is now the largest, at 31%. The change is structural: homes below INR 5 million fell from 54% of sales in 2018 to 18% so far in 2026, while those above INR 10 million rose from 16% to 55%, pointing to genuine household upgrading as well as repricing. The INR 50-100 million decline of 24% YoY is wholly attributable to NCR; outside NCR, sales above INR 10 million rose 13%, indicating broad-based premium demand. Unsold inventory rose 5% YoY to 531,480 units, extending the build-up that began in 2022.

Inventory above INR 10 million grew 20% to 227,032 units, 43% of the total, led by the INR 20-50 million segment, up 37% to 68,430 units, with Bengaluru accounting for almost half the increase.

At the lower end, the 169,571 unsold units under INR 5 million would take 9.4 quarters to clear, up from 8.5, suggesting weaker demand as well as limited new supply.

Overall QTS rose to 6.1 quarters from 5.8, its fourth consecutive increase and highest since Q2 2023. This remains well below the seven to eleven quarters of 2018-2021, but the direction has turned. Ahmedabad (8.2 quarters) and NCR (8.0) have the longest absorption periods. QTS in Bengaluru and Pune rose to 5.5 and 4.7 quarters as inventory grew 21% and 16%, while Mumbai’s eased to 6.4.

Prices rose in every tracked market, but outside NCR and Bengaluru annual growth ranged from 3% to 6%, close to consumer price inflation.

Bengaluru’s 11% likely reflects, in part, higher-priced stock entering the inventory-weighted average. The market is not overheating in aggregate. With Aon projecting salary increments of 9.1% for 2026, organised-sector incomes should keep pace with prices in most cities, although IT services hiring, a key source of demand in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, remains subdued. Facing higher input costs, with wholesale prices of basic metals up 10.9% YoY in August, developers continue to hold headline prices and rely on payment flexibility and targeted incentives where absorption has slowed.

While preparing Wills, is a common Will sufficient or separate Will for Indian and overseas assets ideal? Thirumurthy, Sharjah.

For NRIs owning assets in multiple countries, separate wills aren’t mandatory, but preferable. The reason being that they simplify the process, reduce delays, and give legal heirs more clarity. It is advisable to have separate wills for Indian and overseas assets.

My brother sold the joint owner property without my instruction.What are the implications and how can I resolve this situation? Arvind Menon, Dubai.

Under Section 44 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, a co-owner may transfer only their own undivided share in a property and not the shares belonging to other co-owners. Courts can cancel a sale deed executed without proper authority. You may seek a declaratory decree establishing your rights.