Housing sales in India rose by 7% year-on-year in Q1 to 70,623 within eight major cities in India.

The increase stemmed from rising demand fuelled by very low interest rates on mortgages, whilst prices rose by 7% on average, as per the findings by real estate consultancy PropTiger.

In the first quarter of last year, house sales stood at 66,176, reports Business Standard.

However, whilst sales rose in Mumbai-Metropolitan Region (MMR), Pune, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, there were declines in Delhi-NCR, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

As part of PropTiger’s 'Real Insight Residential - January-March 2022' report, new supply increased by 50% to 79,532 units in Q1, compared to 53,037 units during the same time last year.

"India's housing sector is again emerging as a bright spot in the country's economy, helping it spring out of the pandemic-induced slowdown. With further normalisation of activity in the months to follow, we expect greater positive changes," said PropTiger CEO, Dhruv Agarwala.

In terms of figures there was an 18% rise in housing sales in Ahmedabad in the first three months of this year compared to 2021, a 3% rise in Bengaluru, a 26% increase in Mumbai and a 19% rise in Pune.

However, in contrast, sales in Chennai fell 26% in Q1, by 19% in Delhi-NCR, and there were 15% declines in Hyderabad and Kolkata.

"As expected, housing price growth also accelerated during the quarter, with every market covered in the analysis showing an upwards movement in average rates of new properties. Most of this increase in rates can be attributed to the hike in prices of building materials," PropTiger added.

The largest rise in property prices was registered in Chennai, the findings show, with an average 9% increase over the past year.

“House ownership may become costlier with various government-funded subsidy schemes coming to an end in March this year. This price appreciation would be further compounded by rising home loan rates if the RBI were to hike the benchmark lending rate, which may well be on the cards given inflationary pressures," Agarwala commented.