India’s demonetization of high value currency in November last year and the subsequent cash crunch may have taken a toll on the real estate sector, with many people putting off property purchases, but it did not have any adverse impact on housing prices in many cities.
The data released by the National Housing Board (NHB) reveals that as many as 26 of 50 urban hubs across the country have shown a moderate upturn in housing prices between December 2016 and March 2017, reports Business Standard.
According to NHB Residex Index data, there had been big gains in smaller cities. Prices went up 10% in Visakhapatnam and Raipur, while Kanpur saw 8% growth. Bhubaneswar saw the highest growth of around 11% in the three months, while Chandigarh saw a rise of 6%, the daily added.
Even some metros saw a modest rise. Prices in Mumbai were up 3.6%, Bengaluru by less than a per cent and Chennai by 1.5%. However, New Delhi and Kolkata saw a sharp decline of 6% and 7% respectively during the period, while in Hyderabad it fell 2%.
Interestingly Gurgaon, a satellite town adjoining Delhi, witnessed a 6% rise in property prices, while it was down in Greater Noida, another satellite town near Delhi.