Unsold Housing Stock Up 4% in H1 2026, Premium Segment Leads Build-Up
Unsold housing inventory in eight Indian cities rose 4% YoY to 525,695 units in H1 2026, driven by a sharp build-up in premium and luxury segments.
Unsold residential inventory across eight major Indian cities rose 4% year-on-year to 525,695 units in the first half of 2026, according to Knight Frank India's latest assessment. The increase extends a steady accumulation trend that has been visible since 2020, though the composition of that stock is shifting noticeably toward higher price brackets.
Inventory in the sub-Rs 50 lakh category fell 7% year-on-year to 171,363 units, while the Rs 50 lakh–Rs 1 crore segment saw a 3% decline to 134,841 units. These drops reflect limited new supply in the affordable range and continued absorption by buyers.
In contrast, higher-priced segments recorded significant jumps. The Rs 1–2 crore category saw a 12% rise, the Rs 2–5 crore bracket surged 43% to 65,671 units, and the Rs 5–10 crore segment grew 23%. The Rs 20–50 crore category posted a 52% increase, though its absolute volume remains small.
Knight Frank noted that the growing concentration of unsold stock in premium and luxury segments warrants close monitoring. At the same time, the age of unsold inventory improved to 13.5 quarters in H1 2026 from 14.3 quarters a year earlier, indicating that older units are being absorbed as buyers increasingly prefer ready or near-completion properties.
The Quarters to Sell (QTS) metric, which estimates the time needed to clear existing inventory based on the average sales pace of the previous eight quarters, stood at 6.0 quarters in H1 2026, up from 5.8 quarters at the end of 2025. The rise is attributed to higher inventory levels alongside largely flat sales.
City-wise, Ahmedabad recorded the highest QTS at 8.1 quarters, followed by the National Capital Region at 7.6 quarters. Pune had the lowest at 4.0 quarters, indicating stronger absorption, with Chennai at 4.5 quarters.
In the Rs 2–5 crore segment, despite a 43% rise in inventory, sales grew 19% year-on-year, resulting in a QTS of 4.4 quarters. This suggests demand is broadly keeping pace with supply at current price points, though the pace of stock accumulation remains a factor to watch.
At the ultra-luxury end, QTS stood at 14.2 quarters for the Rs 20–50 crore segment and 9.7 quarters for homes above Rs 50 crore. Knight Frank cautioned that these figures should be interpreted carefully because the combined inventory in these segments is only around 2,081 units, making the metrics more sensitive to individual project completions and transactions.