In the first quarter of 2013, the new project launches are fewer compared to the last quarter of 2012. New project launches were more in the last quarter of 2012.

New launches fall in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: The first quarter of 2013 witnessed a sharp fall in the number of new launches in Mumbai. The new figure however is compared to the number of new launches in the last quarter of 2012.

The last quarter which is the season of festivals like Diwali, usually have larger number of new launches. Liases Foras reported that the number of new launches were the maximum in this quarter across the country.

Managing Director of Liases Foras Pankaj Kapoor said that Mumbai has only a fewer new launches compared to the last quarter of 2012. The developers are postponing the new launches due to the weak home sales.

Home sales are yet to pick up in the city. The demand for housing units is still not so impressive. This negative market sentiment has been considered as the reason which forced the developers to postpone their new project launches.

Developers have restricted new launches in Mumbai for selling off unsold inventories.

Cushman & Wakefield’s last quarter report said that a good number of new projects are launched in Mumbai during this quarter. Developers came up with new launches in this period which was marked by festivals.

A good number of new projects were launched in many Mumbai suburbs like Borivali, Dahisar and Kandivali. Most of these new launches, however, were in the ultra-luxury segment.

Industry experts predict that the coming quarter will witness a good number of new launches as Gudi Padwa, the Marathi New Year falls in April – June quarter.

Launching new projects, when home sales are down, may affect the property prices. Moreover it will result in more unsold inventories. Thus the builders remain cautious to come up with new projects till they find takers for their unsold properties.