RealtyMandi news card on Knight Frank's H1 2026 report showing flat home sales and Bengaluru price growth

Investment

Knight Frank H1 2026: Home sales flat at 1.71 lakh units, Bengaluru prices up 9%

Home sales across India's eight largest residential markets were broadly flat in the first half of 2026, according to Knight Frank India's half-yearly residential and office market report released on 9 July 2026. The consultancy counted 1,71,471 homes sold in January–June 2026, a marginal 1% rise over the 1,70,201 units sold in H1 2025. Bengaluru posted the fastest sales growth among the eight cities, and its average residential price rose 9% year on year to ₹9,354 per sq ft.

Key numbers: a market that has stopped accelerating

Knight Frank describes the near-flat trajectory as a sign of stabilisation rather than continued rapid growth. Supply, however, kept running ahead of demand.

  • Sales: 1,71,471 units across Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad, up 1% YoY.
  • Launches: 1,87,350 units, up 4%, leaving a launches-to-sales gap of about 15,879 units.
  • Unsold inventory: 5,25,695 units at the end of June, up 4% YoY.
  • Premium tilt: homes priced above ₹1 crore made up 54% of sales, up from 49% a year earlier.
  • City split: Mumbai stayed the largest market at 47,355 units (+1%), while NCR fell 7% to 24,862 units.

The report estimates that it would take 6.0 quarters to clear existing inventory at the recent sales pace, up from 5.8 quarters at the end of 2025. Ahmedabad (8.1 quarters) and NCR (7.6) had the longest runway, while Pune (4.0) and Chennai (4.5) had the shortest.

Bengaluru leads on sales growth and prices

Bengaluru sold 27,968 homes in H1 2026, 5% more than a year earlier, which Knight Frank links to buyers from the city's largely resilient technology sector. Launches in the city rose 4% to 34,749 units. Sales were, however, 3% lower than in the second half of 2025.

Prices rose in every tracked market, though more slowly than during 2023 and 2024. Faridabad and Delhi recorded the steepest annual appreciation at 18% each, followed by Ghaziabad (15%), Bengaluru (9%), Noida (8%) and Gurugram (6%), while Mumbai, Pune and Chennai each rose 5%. The report cautions that developers have largely avoided formal price cuts and are relying on flexible payment plans, subvention schemes and stamp duty waivers instead, so headline prices and effective transaction prices can differ.

Office market: GCCs hold up leasing

Office transactions totalled 48.0 million sq ft, 2% below the record set in H1 2025. Global capability centres (GCCs) took 43% of leasing, or 20.6 million sq ft, which Knight Frank says is the highest half-yearly share on record for the segment, up from 39% a year earlier. Bengaluru captured 41% of GCC activity, with Mumbai and Hyderabad at 16% each.

Bengaluru remained the country's largest office market at 14.1 million sq ft, 23% below its unusually strong H1 2025 but still its second-highest half-year. Mumbai recorded 7.3 million sq ft, its best half-year on record, while Hyderabad (7.5 million sq ft) and Pune (6.6 million sq ft) each grew 29%.

A separate Knight Frank report on private equity, released on 26 June 2026, showed PE investment in Indian real estate at USD 1.13 billion in H1 2026, down 23% from USD 1.47 billion a year earlier. The office segment accounted for nearly 89% of that, or about USD 998 million.

What it means for buyers and owners

With launches outpacing sales and inventory rising, buyers in most cities have more choice and developers are offering more incentives. Comparing the effective price after offers, checking the RERA registration and confirming the possession timeline matters more than the headline rate per sq ft. Those tracking the Bengaluru market can browse homes for sale in Bengaluru, and owners there can list a property for free. Businesses looking at the city's busy office market can review commercial spaces for rent in Bengaluru.

Sources

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