India’s housing market is showing renewed activity, with Hyderabad and Bengaluru recording the strongest annual sales growth among seven major urban markets. Yet the recovery comes alongside a growing stock of unsold homes, raising questions about how quickly buyers can absorb the projects developers are launching.
According to ANAROCK Research’s July–September 2026 data, sales across the seven cities rose 3% annually to approximately 1,00,220 homes. Available inventory increased 12% to around 6.31 lakh units. The figures point to improving demand, accompanied by a faster expansion in supply.
Hyderabad Records the Fastest Sales Growth
Hyderabad led annual sales growth, with approximately 12,970 homes sold during the quarter, up 15% from 11,305 a year earlier.
Developers expanded their activity even more sharply. New launches reached about 18,950 units, a 120% annual increase. That made Hyderabad the second-largest market for new housing supply after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The composition of those launches also deserves attention. Homes costing above ₹2.5 crore accounted for more than 23% of Hyderabad’s new supply, according to reporting on ANAROCK’s figures.
This creates an important test for the city. Rising transactions demonstrate demand, but the much larger increase in launches means future sales must keep pace with developers’ expectations. Strong citywide growth alone cannot establish whether every location or price category has sufficient buyers.
Bengaluru Maintains Momentum
Bengaluru recorded approximately 16,670 housing sales, an annual increase of 12%. It followed Hyderabad in percentage growth while selling a larger number of homes.
Industry participants quoted in reporting on the data linked Bengaluru’s performance to employment opportunities, infrastructure development and demand from professionals. These explanations reflect industry assessments; the quarterly sales figures themselves do not isolate individual drivers.
New launches in Bengaluru rose 17% to approximately 17,720 units. Around 81% of the city’s new supply was priced between ₹80 lakh and ₹2.5 crore.
For buyers, this combination means more projects to compare, particularly in higher price brackets. For developers, it increases the importance of matching home sizes, locations and budgets to the households actively looking to purchase.
Growth Remains Uneven Across Cities
Hyderabad and Bengaluru led growth rates, while the Mumbai Metropolitan Region remained the largest market by volume. It recorded approximately 31,750 sales, up 5% annually.
The remaining four cities in ANAROCK’s comparison recorded declines. Pune’s sales fell 6%, Delhi-NCR slipped 1%, Chennai declined 10% and Kolkata dropped 4%.
These differences limit how broadly the recovery can be described. The seven-city increase reflects stronger activity in three markets alongside weaker transactions elsewhere. It also covers the primary housing market tracked by ANAROCK, so it should not be treated as a count of all residential transactions across India.
Why Unsold Inventory Is Increasing
Across the seven cities, developers launched approximately 1,14,320 homes during the quarter, up 18% annually. That exceeded the roughly 1,00,220 homes sold.
Sales and inventory can therefore rise together. Developers add new homes to the available stock while buyers purchase units from both new and existing projects.
Unsold inventory also needs careful interpretation. It does not necessarily mean completed apartments standing empty; available homes can include units in projects under construction. Understanding the stock requires looking at construction stages, locations, prices and how long units have remained available.
A growing inventory total becomes more concerning when homes repeatedly fail to find buyers. The headline number alone cannot show whether a particular neighbourhood faces excess supply or whether recently launched projects are still progressing through their normal sales cycle.
Higher Prices Keep Affordability in Focus
More choice has not produced a broad price decline. Average residential prices across the seven cities rose 7% annually to approximately ₹9,714 per square foot. Bengaluru recorded an 8% increase, while Delhi-NCR led at 12%.
For households, this can mean a wider selection of properties without a corresponding improvement in affordability. Buyers still need to account for the down payment, loan instalments, registration, interiors and maintenance.
In a competitive location, additional inventory may create opportunities to compare payment plans or negotiate specific charges. However, a larger citywide stock does not guarantee discounts in every project. Pricing remains dependent on the individual development and its competing supply.
Conclusion
Hyderabad and Bengaluru are leading housing sales growth, offering evidence that buyers remain active despite higher prices. Their performance is helping support the seven-city market, even as several other locations record weaker sales.
The rise in unsold inventory adds a more cautious dimension to that recovery. Developers are launching homes faster than sales are growing, with considerable attention on higher price categories. Sustained progress will depend on whether those homes match buyers’ needs and purchasing power. For homebuyers, the expanding choice makes careful comparison of price, location, construction progress and total ownership costs increasingly valuable.