Housing Sales Rise 3 in Q3, but Launches Jump 18 as Inventory Builds

Housing sales across India’s top seven residential markets rose 3% year-on-year to approximately 1,00,220 units in Q3 2026, but new launches increased much faster, rising 18% to about 1,14,320 units, according to Anarock Research.

Available housing inventory also increased 12% year-on-year to approximately 6.31 lakh units, while average residential prices across the seven markets rose 7%.

The combination points to a housing market where buyer activity has improved, but developers are adding new supply faster than homes are being absorbed.

Launches moved ahead of sales

In Q3 2025, Anarock reported approximately 97,080 sales and 96,690 new launches, leaving demand and fresh supply broadly aligned.

A year later, sales increased to 1,00,220 units while launches climbed to 1,14,320 units.

That means developers launched approximately 14,100 more homes than were sold during Q3 2026.

Put another way, there were roughly 114 new launches for every 100 homes sold during the quarter.

These are Vantage editorial calculations based on Anarock’s published totals, not metrics reported directly by Anarock.

The launch-versus-sales gap should also not be treated as a direct measure of inventory added during the quarter. Available inventory can be affected by older stock, project completions, withdrawals and other changes.

Inventory rises to 6.31 lakh homes

Available inventory across the top seven cities increased from approximately 5.62 lakh units at the end of Q3 2025 to 6.31 lakh units at the end of Q3 2026.

That represents an increase of approximately 68,830 units based on the reported totals.

The rise is worth watching because supply growth is occurring alongside higher prices.

Average residential prices increased 7% year-on-year across the seven markets. NCR recorded the strongest increase at 12%, followed by Bengaluru at 8%.

Vantage previously examined the broader pricing environment in Indias House Price Growth Slows to 3.6 in Q1 FY27: RBI, which showed that transaction-based house prices nationally were still rising, though at a slower annual rate.

The two datasets use different methodologies and periods, so they should not be directly combined. Together, they reinforce the need to separate sales volumes, inventory and price trends rather than treating them as one market signal.

Three markets drove sales growth

The seven cities did not move in the same direction.

Mumbai Metropolitan Region

MMR recorded the highest sales volume at approximately 31,750 units, up 5% year-on-year.

Bengaluru

Sales increased 12% to 16,670 units.

Hyderabad

Hyderabad recorded the strongest percentage growth among the seven markets, with sales rising 15% to 12,970 units.

The remaining four markets recorded annual declines:

• Pune: 15,690 units, down 6%
• Delhi-NCR: 13,765 units, down 1%
• Chennai: 5,395 units, down 10%
• Kolkata: 3,980 units, down 4%

MMR and Bengaluru together accounted for approximately 48% of total sales.

The divergence shows why the 3% headline growth should not be read as evidence of uniform housing demand across India’s largest markets.

New launches were concentrated in four markets

MMR led new supply with approximately 37,500 units, up 27% year-on-year.

Hyderabad followed with around 18,950 units, representing a 120% increase.

Pune recorded approximately 18,730 launches, while Bengaluru added around 17,720 units.

Together, MMR, Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru accounted for approximately 81% of new housing supply across the seven markets.

This concentration means the impact of rising inventory is likely to differ substantially by city and micro-market.

Developers continue to favour higher ticket sizes

Homes priced between ₹80 lakh and ₹1.5 crore accounted for 34% of new launches, making this the largest reported price segment.

Homes priced between ₹1.5 crore and ₹2.5 crore accounted for another 24%.

Together, those two bands represented approximately 58% of new supply.

Homes priced between ₹40 lakh and ₹80 lakh contributed 17%, while homes below ₹40 lakh accounted for 14%.

The supply mix fits a broader trend Vantage has previously examined in Homes priced at Rs 1.5 crore-Rs 3 crore emerge as key housing segment, which looked at the growing importance of higher-value housing across major markets.

The datasets cover different periods and price bands, but both point to developers allocating a substantial share of new supply towards higher-ticket homes.

Buyer selectivity remains important

A growing launch pipeline does not guarantee that every project will convert into sales at the same pace.

Vantage recently reported in Indian Homebuyers Show Stronger Preference for Ready Homes Over New Launches that a Colliers survey found stronger buyer preference for completed and near-completion homes than newly launched projects.

That survey and Anarock’s Q3 market data measure different aspects of the housing market.

However, the combination highlights an important issue for developers: adding new supply is different from demonstrating buyer absorption.

Projects with the right location, ticket size, execution credibility and delivery visibility may be better positioned to convert launches into actual sales.

A second dataset gives a different Q3 headline

The latest Anarock figures should also be read alongside a separate Q3 assessment from PropEquity.

PropEquity reported that housing sales across nine primary residential markets fell 6% year-on-year to 1,03,170 units.

Its dataset covers Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Kolkata.

Anarock reports seven broader markets and treats the Mumbai Metropolitan Region as a combined market.

The two studies therefore use different market baskets and potentially different underlying methodologies.

The accessible reports do not provide enough methodological detail to fully reconcile why one dataset shows 3% growth and the other a 6% decline.

They should not be averaged or treated as interchangeable.

Both datasets, however, indicate stronger performance in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and weaker sales in markets including Pune and Chennai.

What this means

For developers

The Q3 numbers show renewed sales activity, but launches are expanding much faster than demand.

Project selection, pricing and launch sequencing become more important when available inventory is already rising.

For homebuyers

More launches can improve choice, but citywide supply growth does not establish that prices will fall.

Buyers should compare actual transaction prices, project stage, developer execution history and competing inventory in the specific micro-market.

For investors

The headline 3% sales increase hides large differences between cities.

City-level absorption and supply growth are more useful than the national-looking aggregate when evaluating individual developers or markets.

What to monitor next

The festive quarter will test whether new launches translate into stronger absorption.

Important indicators include:

• Q4 sales growth;
• the sales-to-launch ratio;
• available inventory;
• inventory overhang in months;
• price movement by ticket size;
• project-level sales velocity; and
• city and micro-market performance.

Inventory overhang in months, project-level absorption, cancellation rates and detailed primary-versus-resale splits were not available in the accessible Q3 source material reviewed for this article.

Sources

ETRealty

Housing sales rise 3% to one lakh units in Q3 2026; launches up 18%: Report

Published: 28 September 2026

https://realty.economictimes.indiatimes.com/amp/news/residential/housing-sales-rise-3-to-one-lakh-units-in-q3-2026-launches-up-18-report/134536020

Business Standard

Housing sales rebound in Q3 2026, office leasing momentum continues

Published: 28 September 2026

https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/housing-sales-rise-3-per-cent-in-q3-office-leasing-up-9-per-cent-ananrock-126092800624_1.html

The Times of India

Homebuyers, take note: These Indian cities saw housing sales rise in Q3, here’s what changed

Published: 28 September 2026

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/real-estate/news/homebuyers-take-note-these-indian-cities-saw-housing-sales-rise-in-q3-heres-what-changed/articleshow/134538706.cms

Business Standard / PropEquity comparison

Housing sales fall 6% to 103K units across top 9 cities in Q3: PropEquity

Published: 26 September 2026

https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/housing-sales-fall-6-to-103k-units-across-top-9-cities-in-q3-propequity-126092600309_1.html

Evidence Caveats

A directly accessible copy of Anarock’s complete Q3 2026 Pan-India Residential Market Viewpoints report was not retrieved during this review.

The current-quarter Anarock figures therefore remain attributed to Anarock Research as reported by ETRealty, Business Standard and The Times of India.

The following are Vantage editorial calculations, not source-published metrics:

• launches exceeded sales by approximately 14,100 units;
• there were approximately 114 launches for every 100 sales;
• available inventory increased by approximately 68,830 units year-on-year; and
• the ₹80 lakh to ₹2.5 crore bands together represented approximately 58% of reported launches.

Anarock and PropEquity use different market coverage. Their Q3 totals should not be combined or averaged.

The following metrics were unavailable in the reviewed evidence:

• inventory overhang in months across all seven cities;
• project-level sales velocity;
• cancellation rates;
• detailed primary-versus-resale splits;
• micro-market-level sales and launch totals; and
• a complete methodological reconciliation between the Anarock and PropEquity datasets.