Real Estate: Average Flat Size in Top-7 Cities Increases 11% In 2023, Check Details

Demand for bigger apartments refuses to wane despite life returning to normalcy across the country — and rising residential prices. According to the latest data from real estate consultancy firm Anarock, average flat sizes in top-7 cities grew by 11 per cent annually last year – from 1,175 sqft in 2022 to 1,300 sqft in 2023.

“In 2021 and 2020, the average flat size across the top-7 cities were comparable to 2022 — 1,170 sqft in 2021 and 1,167 sqft in 2020,” according to the Anarock report.

A deep dive into the data across the top cities reveals that MMR and Kolkata were the only two cities where the average flat sizes decreased in the last one year.

“In MMR, average flat sizes stood at 840 sqft in 2022 and decreased to 794 sqft in 2023 – a 5 per cent yearly decline. However, over a 5-year period, avg. sizes in MMR were similar to 2019 at 784 sqft,” it said.

In Kolkata, average flat sizes saw a 2 per cent yearly decline from 1,150 sqft in 2022 to 1,124 sqft in 2023. However, over a 5-year period, average flat sizes have risen by 12 per cent in the city. Average flat size in the city stood at 1,000 sqft in 2019, it said.

Among the top-7 cities, NCR saw the highest growth (37 per cent) in average flat size in the last one year – from 1,375 sq. ft. in 2022 to 1,890 sq. ft. in 2023. Developers in the region are actively tracking demand and launching larger homes – homebuyer demand is skewed significantly towards luxury apartments, which are primarily defined by bigger sizes.

Hyderabad has the highest average flat size in 2023 at 2,300 sq. ft., followed by NCR with 1,890 sq. ft. In the other southern cities – Chennai and Bengaluru – average flat sizes are 1,260 and 1,484 sq. ft., respectively. Pune’s average flat size stood at 1,086 sq. ft. in 2023

Anuj Puri, chairman of ANAROCK Group, said, “North-bound housing prices in the top cities have in no way dispelled the demand for generous living spaces. The supply of bigger luxury homes increased significantly in 2023. ANAROCK data indicates that more than one lakh units (or about 23 per cent) of the total new launches in 2023 were in the luxury category.”

He added that 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.