Real estate services company ANAROCK on January 29, 2023, released a report saying despite residential prices increasing after the pandemic, the average size of flats in the top 7 cities grew by 11 per cent last year. The report indicates a sustained demand for larger homes, with the average flat size increasing from 1,175 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,300 sq. ft. in 2023.
The average flat sizes were similar in 2022 and didn't change much from 2020 and 2021, but in 2023 it shows an 11 per cent jump. A 5-year trend shows a huge 24 per cent rise from 1,050 sq. ft. in 2019 to 1,300 sq. ft. in 2023.
Among the top 7 cities, the National Capital Region (NCR) saw the highest growth of 37 per cent in the last year, reaching 1,890 sq. ft. in 2023, and a 51 per cent increase in five years. Hyderabad followed with a 30 per cent rise in one year.
Despite the rise in housing prices, the demand for larger living spaces remains strong, says Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Group. “The demand for bigger size homes was kick-started by the pandemic, but there are no signs of it waning three years later,” Puri said.
Among the larger trend of flat size increasing, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Kolkata were the only cities among 7 surveyed cities where average flat sizes decreased in the last year. MMR saw a 5 per cent decline from 840 sq. ft. in 2022 to 794 sq. ft. in 2023, while Kolkata saw a 2 per cent decrease from 1,150 sq. ft. to 1,124 sq. ft.
However, the report notes that over 5 years, MMR flat size didn't fluctuate much while Kolkata saw a 12 per cent increase.
ANAROCK report highlighted that developers are responding to this demand and launching larger homes - "homebuyer demand is skewed significantly towards luxury apartments, which are primarily defined by bigger sizes." In 2023, more than one lakh units (approximately 23 per cent of total new launches) were in the luxury category.
Hyderabad has the highest average flat size in 2023 at 2,300 sq. ft., followed by NCR with 1,890 sq. ft.
In southern cities, Bengaluru and Chennai, saw average flat sizes of 1,260 and 1,484 sq. ft., rising 26 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Pune's average flat size increased by 11 per cent year-on-year to 1,086 sq. ft. in 2023.
