Housing market witnesses 3.1% growth: Report

NEW DELHI: The country’s housing market saw a 3.1% rise in demand during July-Sept over the previous quarter with buyers opting for smaller homes amid affordability challenges, said a new report.The share of 1 and 2 BHK units rose to 54% in the Sept quarter, reversing the declining trend seen over the last two years, the PropIndex report by Magicbricks estimated. Apart from demand, prices rose as overall supply fell 4.5% over last year with Pune (41.4% YoY rise), Mumbai (29.6% growth), and Greater Noida (27.3% increase) topping the charts on higher prices. Under-construction homes saw higher premiums than ready-to-move units.With a 10.3% quarter-on-quarter rise, Delhi NCR saw the highest growth in demand, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region saw resilient buyer activity, the report said.