Godrej Properties To Prestige Estates: Top Nine Listed Developers' Home Bookings Surge 57% In H1 FY22

India's top nine listed real estate developers continued to reap rewards from the surge in demand for branded homes during the pandemic, according to Anarock Property Consultants.

These developers reported a 57% annual growth in their revenue from residential bookings at Rs 14,883 crore in the first half of fiscal year 2022, Anarock said in a report. That's in spite of the second Covid-19 wave wreaking economic havoc in the first quarter ended June.

Godrej Properties Ltd. recorded the highest sales booking revenue in the first half, followed by Macrotech Developers Ltd. and Prestige Estates Projects Ltd.

According to Anarock, factors that drove sales of the top developers include:

• Increased preference for branded homes

• Reconfigured supply pipelines

• Low home loan interest rates

• Homebuyers' desire to avoid construction-related risks

The developers sold 18.46 million square feet of housing space during the first half, according to Anuj Puri, chairman of Anarock Group. That's a growth of 39% over a year earlier and is also higher than 17.2 million in the pre-Covid period of April-September, he said.

"Less than a decade ago, a largely speculator-driven housing market saw unnatural demand chasing the wrong kind of supply," Puri said. "Today, these players are unleashing right-priced, right-sized supply clearly aimed at organic end-user demand."

Puri attributed it to intensive market research before pressing the "commit" button and is one of the most notable features of the "reinvented Indian housing market".

Key Highlights

• During the first half of FY22, the residential market's second-quarter performance was significantly better than the first.

• Residential activity fared slightly better during the second wave of the pandemic than in the first.

• The top nine listed players collectively sold homes worth Rs 10,669 crore in Q2, 89% growth over Q1.

• The total area sold rose 83% sequentially to 13.47 million sqft in Q2.

• As for the first quarter of FY22 when the second pandemic wave was at its worst, these companies sold about 4.99 million sqft, down from 5.9 million sqft a year ago.

• While area sold in the first quarter fell 15% over a year earlier, booking revenue rose 10% at Rs 4,214 crore. That may indicate higher sales in the mid and premium categories.