The lockdowns have stalled construction activity and will lead to project delays in the future, but this is a reality the sector must accept and live with," said Anuj Puri, Chairman – ANAROCK Property Consultants. With the coronavirus pandemic creating worldwide panic, its impact on the Indian housing sector has also been cataclysmic with residential sales witnessing around 42 percent YoY drop in the first quarter of 2020 in the top-7 cities and a similar drop seen in the number of new launches, according to a report by ANAROCK. Another report said that the residential market may take the longest time to recover from this setback as the coronavirus outbreak may lead to customers delaying their home purchases. "The affordable/mid-income segment may recover relatively faster than premium housing projects," ICICI Securities said in a report. In Q1 2020, residential sales in the top 7 cities stood at 45,200 units, against 78,510 units a year ago. On q-o-q
Prime Minister Narendra Modi , while addressing the nation for the second time on coronavirus on March 24, announced a complete lockdown across India for 21 days starting 12 am. “The country will be set back by 21 years if we don't manage these 21 days,” the PM said in a televised address on March 24. Here's what brokerages have to say on the lockdown. JPMorgan on India | Lockdown steepens the economic cost curve in the near-term and quantifying the cost with any degree of certainty will be very difficult, said the brokerage. It expects about 60 percent of the GDP to be significantly impacted by the lockdown. Deutsche Bank on India | As per the brokerage, nationwide lockdown pushes India into uncharted territory and implies a negative GDP print. It added that there is a need for coordinated and front-loaded fiscal stimulus. Barclays on India | The brokerage sees another 8 weeks of partial shutdowns across the country till May end. It cut its CY20 GDP forecast f