Homes in the country’s costliest real estate market continue to see a decline in their average size. As per an ANAROCK Report, even as the sizes of apartments in the country’s top seven cities grew 7% in the last five years — from 1,150 sq ft in 2018 to approximately 1,225 sq ft in Q1 2023 — the Mumbai Metropolitan Region ( MMR) was an outlier with average home sizes reducing around 20%.

“MMR is the only city where the average flat sizes reduced in the last five years, from 932 sq ft in 2018 to 743 sq ft in Q1 2023,” says Anuj Puri, chairman of the ANAROCK Group. He noted that in these five years, only in 2020 did average flat sizes in MMR see an annual rise of 21% over 2019. “Since 2020, homes in the region are shrinking,” Puri said.

Among the top seven cities, NCR saw the highest growth in average flat size in the last five years – from approximately 1,250 sq ft in 2018 to about 1,700 sq ft in Q1 2023.

Also read: After Shakti Ammas, it may be the turn of Bima Vahaks

A reversal of buyer preferences

The Anarock report notes that before Covid-19, apartment sizes were shrinking annually to meet the demand for compact homes prevalent then. The central concerns were affordability and millennials’ preference for low-maintenance homes. The year 2020 saw an abrupt reversal of buyer preferences. With a sudden emphasis on WFH and study-from-home culture, flat sizes began increasing for the first time in four years. According to Anarock, MMR and Chennai are notable exceptions. A perception among developers that there is currently sufficient existing supply of larger format homes may be a factor. Also, while MMR is hyper-expensive, Chennai is a very cost-sensitive market. In both the instances, increasing the supply of smaller, more affordable homes makes sense.

City-level yearly trends

The yearly trends of average flat sizes in the top seven cities show that Q1 2023 has seen a 5% annual rise – from 1,170 sq ft in Q1 2022 to 1,225 sq ft in Q1 2023. NCR saw average flat size rise of 50%, from 1,130 sq ft in Q1 2022 to 1,700 sq ft in Q1 2023. Kolkata saw flat sizes increase by 44% — from a modest 800 sq ft in Q1 2022 to 1,150 sq ft in Q1 2023.

Also read: 40-year Home Loan: You will end up paying Rs 2 crore on a Rs 50 lakh loan! Avoid it

Hyderabad saw average flat size increase by 29% in the year – from approx. 1,700 sq. ft. in Q1 2022 to approx. 2,200 sq. ft. in Q1 2023. Pune saw a 16% yearly increase – from 877 sq. ft. back in Q1 2022 to 1,013 sq. ft. in Q1 2023.

Bengaluru saw a 8% yearly jump in the average flat sizes – from 1,200 sq ft in Q1 2022 to 1,300 sq ft in Q1 2023. Chennai saw avg. flat sizes decrease by 6% – from approx. 1,250 sq. ft. in Q1 2022 to approx. 1,175 sq ft in Q1 2023 MMR saw average flat sizes decrease by 5% – from 783 sq ft in Q1 2022 to approx. 743 sq ft in Q1 2023.