Indian cities slip on global rankings with dip in prime property prices in June

MUMBAI: Major Indian hubs, including Bengaluru, Delhi and the financial capital, have slipped in their rankings in a global list of cities prepared by a consultant every quarter, because of a decline in prime residential property prices in June over the year-ago period.

Bengaluru saw a 2.7 per cent correction to slip to the 43rd spot from 40th in the March quarter, the prices in Mumbai slipped 1.1 per cent to take its ranking to 40th from 36th, while Delhi ceded five spots to end at 37th rank on the back of a 0.2 per cent price correction, according to the list prepared by Knight Frank.

Prime residential property is defined as the most desirable and most expensive property in a given location, generally defined as the top 5 per cent of each market by value, it explained.

Interestingly, all the major Indian cities did not see a correction during the June quarter, which saw massive impact because of the COVID-19 second wave ravages in all these centres, and the prices were stable on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

The prime residential market average price in Bengaluru is Rs 19,200 per sq ft, while the same for the financial capital is Rs 63,697 per sq ft and Delhi Rs 33,572 per sq ft, the report said.

From a global perspective, 35 cities witnessed a rise in prime residential prices during the quarter when compared to the year-ago period, with 13 showing a double digit growth, the report said.

“An easing of travel rules in some markets, a surge in safe-haven purchases by domestic buyers, stamp duty holidays, and an overall reassessment of lifestyles has helped the prime segment recover quickly from the pandemic impact and record strong growth. Prime property prices in India are yet to catch-up with this global trend,” its chairman and managing director for the Indian unit, Shishir Baijal, said.