Housing sales across eight major Indian cities fell 6% year over year to 91,729 units in the April-June quarter of 2026, as prospective homebuyers became more cautious amid global uncertainties and concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on employment. According to PropTiger’s latest Real Insight Residential Market Report, sales stood at 97,674 units in the same quarter last year.
The slowdown was broad-based, with six of the eight major markets recording annual declines. Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata all saw sales fall, while Chennai and Hyderabad bucked the trend with strong growth. Despite weaker volumes, developers continued to add supply, with 89,161 new homes launched during the quarter, up 6% from 84,138 units a year earlier.
Housing Sales Decline Across Major Indian Cities
The Q2 2026 numbers indicate that India’s residential property market is moving into a more selective phase after a period of strong demand and price growth. The decline in sales was attributed by PropTiger to cautious buyer sentiment linked to global uncertainties, including the West Asia conflict, as well as concerns over AI-led changes to employment.
The fall was not uniform across markets. Some of India’s largest residential markets experienced moderate declines, while Chennai and Hyderabad recorded double-digit growth.
Q2 2026 Housing Market Snapshot
| Metric | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing sales | 97,674 units | 91,729 units | -6% YoY |
| New launches | 84,138 units | 89,161 units | +6% YoY |
| Sales minus launches | 13,536 units | 2,568 units | Narrowed |
| Cities covered | 8 | 8 | — |
| Cities with sales growth | — | 2 | Chennai, Hyderabad |
| Cities with sales decline | — | 6 | MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata |
The narrowing gap between sales and new launches is notable. In Q2 2025, sales exceeded new supply by more than 13,500 units. In Q2 2026, the difference narrowed to just 2,568 units, suggesting that developers continued to bring substantial inventory to the market even as buyer demand softened.
Pune And Ahmedabad Record Sharpest Sales Declines
Pune recorded the steepest decline among the eight markets tracked by PropTiger. Residential sales fell 21% year over year to 12,642 units from 15,962 units in Q2 2025.
Ahmedabad followed with a 20% decline, with sales falling to 7,541 units from 9,451 units. Bengaluru recorded a 9% decline to 14,186 units, while Kolkata sales dropped 9% to 3,517 units.
City-Wise Housing Sales Performance
| City / Market | Q2 2025 Sales | Q2 2026 Sales | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMR | 25,939 | 24,112 | -7% |
| Delhi-NCR | 10,051 | 9,352 | -7% |
| Bengaluru | 15,628 | 14,186 | -9% |
| Pune | 15,962 | 12,642 | -21% |
| Ahmedabad | 9,451 | 7,541 | -20% |
| Kolkata | 3,847 | 3,517 | -9% |
| Chennai | 5,283 | 7,183 | +36% |
| Hyderabad | 11,513 | 13,196 | +15% |
| Total | 97,674 | 91,729 | -6% |
The data show that the overall decline was driven primarily by weaker performance in Pune, Ahmedabad and the large markets of Bengaluru and MMR. Chennai’s 36% increase was the strongest growth rate among the eight cities.
Chennai And Hyderabad Buck The Downtrend
Chennai emerged as the strongest-growing residential market in Q2 2026. Housing sales jumped 36% to 7,183 units from 5,283 units a year earlier.
Hyderabad also delivered strong growth, with sales increasing 15% to 13,196 units from 11,513 units.
The performance of these two cities demonstrates that India’s housing slowdown is not universal. Local employment conditions, infrastructure development, housing affordability, project availability and buyer demographics can produce significantly different outcomes across cities.
Growth Leaders
Q2 2026 YoY Housing Sales Growth
Chennai +36% ████████████████████████████████
Hyderabad +15% ███████████████
Overall -6% ░░░░░░
Chennai’s performance was particularly notable because it was the only market among the eight to record growth above 30%. Hyderabad’s 15% increase also allowed it to offset part of the declines recorded elsewhere.
AI And Job Uncertainty Affect Buyer Sentiment
PropTiger attributed part of the slowdown to concerns about the impact of AI on employment. The issue is particularly relevant to cities such as Bengaluru and Pune, where technology and IT-related employment accounts for a significant part of the economic ecosystem.
A home purchase is typically a long-term financial commitment involving a substantial down payment and potentially decades of mortgage payments. Concerns about job stability can therefore encourage potential buyers to delay purchasing decisions even when they remain financially capable of buying a property.
Why Employment Confidence Matters For Housing
| Factor | Potential Housing Impact |
|---|---|
| AI-led workforce changes | Greater uncertainty over future income |
| Corporate layoffs | Buyers may postpone large purchases |
| Slower hiring | Fewer new buyers entering the market |
| Higher home prices | Greater down-payment requirement |
| Long-term mortgages | Increased sensitivity to job security |
| Global uncertainty | More cautious household spending |
PropTiger’s assessment does not mean AI-related job concerns are the sole reason for weaker sales. The report also points to broader global uncertainty and low demand as factors behind the slowdown.
Bengaluru And Pune Face Greater Pressure
The performance of Bengaluru and Pune is particularly important because both cities have large technology-driven economies.
Bengaluru sales fell 9% to 14,186 units from 15,628 units a year earlier. Pune’s decline was considerably sharper, with sales dropping 21% to 12,642 units.
The two markets together accounted for 26,828 home sales during Q2 2026. Their combined weakness therefore had a meaningful effect on the overall performance of India’s eight-city residential market.
Bengaluru And Pune Comparison
| Indicator | Bengaluru | Pune |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2025 sales | 15,628 | 15,962 |
| Q2 2026 sales | 14,186 | 12,642 |
| YoY change | -9% | -21% |
| Approx. sales decline | 1,442 units | 3,320 units |
| Q2 2026 combined sales | \multicolumn{2}{c}{26,828 units} |
Pune’s annual decline was more than twice Bengaluru’s in percentage terms, making it one of the clearest weak spots in the latest housing data.
MMR Remains The Largest Market
Mumbai Metropolitan Region continued to be the largest market among the eight cities despite a 7% annual decline.
Sales fell to 24,112 units from 25,939 units in Q2 2025, representing a decline of 1,827 homes.
MMR’s scale means that even a relatively moderate percentage decline can translate into a large reduction in absolute sales.
Delhi-NCR also recorded a 7% decline, with sales falling to 9,352 units from 10,051 units.
Together, MMR and Delhi-NCR accounted for 33,464 housing sales during the quarter, representing more than one-third of total sales across the eight markets.
Developers Continue To Launch New Homes
Despite weaker sales, developers did not significantly reduce new supply.
PropTiger reported that 89,161 homes were launched across the eight cities during Q2 2026, up 6% from 84,138 units in the year-earlier period.
This indicates that developers continue to have confidence in the underlying housing market, even though buyers are becoming more selective.
Sales Vs New Supply
Q2 2025
Sales 97,674 ███████████████████████████████████████
Launches 84,138 █████████████████████████████████
Q2 2026
Sales 91,729 █████████████████████████████████████
Launches 89,161 ███████████████████████████████████
The difference between sales and launches has therefore narrowed considerably.
In Q2 2025, sales were around 16% higher than new launches. In Q2 2026, sales were only about 3% higher than new supply. This is an important indicator for developers because continued launches without a corresponding increase in sales could eventually lead to higher inventory levels.
Housing Prices Remain Firm
Despite the decline in sales volumes, housing prices have remained relatively resilient.
PropTiger CEO Prakash Tejwani said prices had remained above Rs 10,000 per square foot for two consecutive quarters, while affordability remained the key variable to watch.
The sales-weighted average residential price across the eight major markets reached Rs 10,153 per square foot, according to PropTiger’s Q2 2026 data. The figure was up 1% sequentially, according to PropTiger’s latest report summary.
Housing Market: Volume Vs Price
| Indicator | Q2 2026 Trend |
|---|---|
| Housing sales | Down 6% YoY |
| New launches | Up 6% YoY |
| Average sales-weighted price | Rs 10,153/sq ft |
| Sequential price change | +1% |
| Price threshold | Above Rs 10,000/sq ft for second consecutive quarter |
| Buyer sentiment | More selective |
This combination of lower sales and firm prices suggests that developers have not yet entered a broad discounting cycle.
What The Data Means For Developers
For developers, the latest figures reinforce the importance of controlling inventory and matching new supply with actual demand.
The continued growth in launches suggests that builders are still willing to invest in new projects. However, the sharp difference between cities means that developers need to be increasingly selective about location, pricing and product mix.
Markets with strong sales growth, such as Chennai and Hyderabad, may continue to support new supply. In weaker markets such as Pune and Ahmedabad, developers could face greater pressure to manage inventory and maintain sales momentum.
PropTiger said disciplined supply could position developers well for the festive quarter, while affordability remains an important factor to monitor.
What The Slowdown Means For Homebuyers
For buyers, falling sales do not automatically mean that property prices will decline sharply.
Developers have so far maintained pricing, and new supply continues to be absorbed at relatively high levels. However, slower demand can gradually improve negotiating power, particularly in projects with higher inventory or slower sales.
Buyers are likely to become more selective about location, developer reputation, project quality, financing costs and affordability.
The market may therefore shift from a period in which buyers rushed to secure homes to one in which they have more time to compare projects and negotiate terms.
The Bigger Picture
India’s housing market is cooling, but the latest PropTiger data suggest a shift toward a more selective market rather than a broad-based collapse. Sales across eight major cities fell 6% to 91,729 units, while new launches increased 6% to 89,161 units. The sharp declines in Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru were partly offset by strong growth in Chennai and Hyderabad.
The combination of weaker sales and firm prices is particularly important. Developers continue to launch homes, but buyers are becoming more cautious amid global uncertainty, affordability concerns and questions about employment in an AI-driven economy. The next phase of the housing cycle is likely to depend on whether employment confidence and affordability improve enough to bring more buyers back into the market.
Looking Ahead
The festive quarter will be an important test for India’s residential real estate market. Developers are entering the period with substantial new supply, while buyers are becoming more selective. If demand improves during the festive season, the current slowdown could prove to be a temporary normalization after several years of strong growth. If sales remain weak, however, developers may need to become more disciplined with launches and inventory.
The performance of individual cities will remain critical. Chennai and Hyderabad are demonstrating that strong local demand can withstand broader uncertainty, while Pune and Bengaluru highlight the sensitivity of technology-heavy markets to employment concerns. With prices still above Rs 10,000 per square foot across the eight-city market, affordability will remain one of the most important factors determining whether India’s housing sector can regain sales momentum in the second half of 2026.
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