Thinking of buying a home? The price tag may have changed more than you expect.
Housing prices across eight major cities climbed between 3% and 24% year-on-year in the January-March quarter of 2026, with Bengaluru leading the surge, according to a report by real estate consultant PropTiger.
The weighted average housing price across these cities also crossed a milestone, touching a record Rs 10,050 per sq ft for the first time ever. The post-pandemic property boom may be settling down, but the market is still growing, now driven more by sustained demand than frenzy.
The catch? Not every city is seeing the same momentum. Here’s what India’s top cities are seeing:
Bengaluru
Bengaluru topped the charts with a 24% annual price increase to Rs 9,785 per square foot. Sales surged 33% year-on-year and 12% quarter-on-quarter, with 15,603 units sold against 15,806 new launches.
The city's GCC and startup employment engine has proven more durable than conventional IT hiring cycles, providing a structurally differentiated demand base less susceptible to sector-specific disruption.
Mumbai Metropolitan Region
Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the largest market by both volume and value, saw prices rise 20% to ₹15,120 per square foot, the highest among all cities. Sales reached 26,116 units, with new supply at 27,189 units, according to PropTiger.
Delhi-NCR
Delhi-NCR recorded an 18% price increase to ₹9,534 per square foot, with new launches surging 28.6% year-on-year driven by luxury demand. Sales improved 2.4% quarter-on-quarter and 11.4% year-on-year.
Pune
Pune saw prices rise 12% to ₹7,957 per square foot, approaching its first potential crossing of the ₹8,000 milestone. Sales recovered 4% quarter-on-quarter to 13,565 units, with new supply at 15,778 units.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad recorded 11% price appreciation, with sales at 13,297 units , a healthy consolidation after an exceptional H2 2025. Year-on-year sales growth remained strong at 24.9%.
Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai
Ahmedabad saw an 8% price rise.
Kolkata stood with 7% growth, and Chennai scored the lowest, standing with 3%.
Chennai presented a clear divergence: 6,841 units sold against just 4,251 new launches, indicating absorption was driven by existing inventory. The pre-election environment contributed to a measured slowdown, with developers expected to accelerate supply in the coming quarters.
Across the top eight cities, Q1 2026 recorded 93,065 new unit launches and 95,973 unit sales. Quarter-on-quarter, new supply rose 1.1 % and sales improved 1.0 %.
Year-on-year, supply was flat at -0.1 %, with sales moderating 2.2 %, described as "healthy normalisation, not structural weakening."
The near-parity between supply and demand prevented any meaningful build-up of unsold stock, suggesting developers are phasing launches with demand discipline. However, a disproportionate share of new launches remains concentrated in premium and upper mid-income segments, where absorption cycles are slower.
The GST reduction on cement from 28 % to 18 % has been fully absorbed into Q1 2026 project economics, providing an estimated 2-3 % construction cost buffer. The RBI repo rate remains stable at 5.25 %, maintaining a predictable home loan EMI environment.
But challenges remain. Affordability pressure is intensifying as price appreciation outpaces income growth in several markets. Premium inventory absorption remains a key risk, and global macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly potential US economic softening, could impact tech-dependent markets like Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
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