Average flat sizes increase in top cities, except Mumbai & Chennai where flats got smaller

Homes in Mumbai and Chennai seem to be shrinking while in NCR the size of an average flat has doubled in Q1 2023 as per a report by real estate consultant Anarock.

Latest data by Anarock reveals that average flat sizes in fresh supply hitting the top 7 cities grew 7% in the last five years to 1,225 sq ft.

Among the top 7 cities, NCR saw the highest growth of as much as 50%, in average flat size in the last five years, to about 1,700 sq ft. Developers in NCR are closely tracking demand and launching bigger homes in this region, points out the Anarock report.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Metropolitan Region saw the average size of flats reducing in the last 5 years, from 932 sq. ft. in 2018 to 743 sq. ft. in Q1 2023.

"In these five years, only 2020 saw average flat sizes in MMR see an annual rise of 21% against 2019. Since 2020, homes in the region are shrinking, " says Anuj Puri, Chairman - Anarock Group.

In 2023, property prices are heading north but the demand for bigger homes continues. Q1 2023 saw average apartment sizes in the top 7 cities increase by approx. 7% since 2018, with MMR the only outlier with average home sizes reducing around 20% in the period.

Kolkata saw flat sizes increase by 44%, while Hyderabad saw a 29% rise in average sizes. Pune and Bengaluru saw a 16% and 8% increase in flat sizes respectively.

Meanwhile, like Mumbai - MMR region, Chennai too saw average flat sizes falling by around 6%.

In the case of Mumbai & Chennai, as per Anarock, developers say that there is currently sufficient existing supply of larger format homes. Also, while MMR is hyper-expensive, Chennai is a very cost-sensitive market. In both instances, increasing the supply of smaller, more affordable homes makes sense.