Flat sizes up 11% in top 7 cities in 2023

Homes are getting bigger in the seven major cities of India. The average size of flats has become 11% bigger last year. Real estate consultant Anarock has analysed the fresh supply of housing units during 2023 across the primary residential market of seven major cities.

The data showed that average flat sizes in the top 7 cities rose to 1,300 square feet last year from 1,175 square feet in 2022. But it was not that all cities saw a rise in sizes. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Kolkata, the average size of apartments fell, but it grew in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai in 2023. The average size stood at 1,050 square feet in 2019, 1,167 sq ft in 2020, and 1,170 sq ft in 2021.

In MMR, the average flat size fell 5 per cent to 794 sq ft in 2023 from 840 square feet in 2022. In Kolkata, the average flat size saw a 2 per cent decline to 1,124 sq ft last year from 1,150 square feet in 2022.

“Northbound housing prices in the top cities have in no way dispelled the demand for generous living spaces,” Anarock Chairman Anuj Puri said.

The supply of bigger luxury homes increased significantly last year, he said, adding that around 23 per cent of the total new launches were in the luxury category.

“The demand for bigger-size homes was kick-started by the pandemic, but there are no signs of it waning three years later. Led by an enduring ‘new normal’ in homebuyer preferences, this demand seems eminently sustainable,” Puri said.

Delhi-NCR saw the highest 37 per cent rise in average flat size to 1,890 square feet in 2023 from 1,375 sq ft in 2022.
Anarock said that developers in the Delhi-NCR are actively tracking demand and launching larger homes. The demand is skewed significantly towards luxury apartments, which are primarily defined by bigger sizes.

Hyderabad has the highest average flat size at 2,300 square feet, up 30 per cent from 1,775 square feet in 2022.
In Bengaluru, the average flat size increased by 26 per cent to 1,484 sq ft in 2023 from 1,175 sq ft in the previous year.

The average flat size in Pune saw an 11 per cent increase to 1,086 sq ft in 2023 from 980 sq ft in 2022.
Chennai saw a 5 per cent rise in average flat sizes to 1,260 square feet in 2023 from 1,200 sq ft in the previous year, Anarock said.

(With inputs from PTI)