Real estate developers are responding to consumer housing demand by building larger flats in major cities. From January to March of this year, the average size of flats introduced in seven cities climbed by 5% over the previous year.
According to the data, the average size of apartments in these seven main cities increased from 1,170 square feet last year to 1,225 square feet this year.
Delhi-NCR had the most substantial growth among these cities, with the average flat size jumping by 50% to 1,700 square feet in the first quarter of 2023, up from 1,130 square feet in the previous January-March period.
Anarock emphasises that developers in Delhi-NCR are closely monitoring demand and responding with larger residences.
In Kolkata, flat sizes increased by 44%, reaching 1,150 square feet in the first Quarter of 2023, up from 800 square feet in the same time the previous year. The average flat size in Hyderabad increased by 29%, rising to 2,200 square feet from 1,700 square feet in the first Quarter of 2022.
Pune saw a 16% year-on-year gain, rising from 877 square feet in the first quarter of the previous year to 1,013 square feet in the first quarter of 2023.
In Bengaluru, average flat sizes increased by 8%, reaching around 1,300 square feet in January-March 2023, up from 1,200 square feet the previous year.
Chennai, on the other hand, had a 6% fall in average flat sizes, which fell to 1,175 square feet in the first quarter 2023 from 1,250 square feet the previous year.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) saw a 5% decrease, with average flat sizes falling from 783 square feet in the first quarter 2022 to 743 square feet in January-March this year.
However, the culture of work-from-home and study-from-home caused a sudden shift in consumer preferences in 2020, which resulted in an increase in flat sizes for the first time in four years.
According to the expert, demand for larger homes is still high despite growing real estate costs in 2023. According to Anarock, the typical flat size in the top seven cities increased by 7% over the previous five years, rising to 1,225 square feet in the first quarter 2023 from 1,150 square feet in 2018.
The only city where average flat sizes have declined over the past five years is MMR, where they went from 932 square feet in 2018 to 743 square feet from January to March of this year. With an increase from 1,250 square feet in 2018 to 1,700 square feet over the same time period, Delhi-NCR’s average flat size showed the largest growth.
Source-ET
