Mumbai Homes Shrink Even As Apartments Get Bigger In Other Cities
The average size of a Mumbai apartment fell 20.3% to 743 square feet in the last five years.
Mumbai homes continue to shrink when the apartments are getting bigger in most other top cities, highlighting the search for affordability in India's costliest real estate market.
Average flat sizes in the top seven cities—Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, National Capital Region, and Pune—grew from 1,150 square feet in 2018 to 1,225 sq ft by March 2023, according to the latest data from Anarock Property Consultants Pvt.
But the average size of a Mumbai apartment fell 20.27% from 932 sq ft to 743 sq ft in the last five years. Barring 2020 when the first Covid lockdown spurred a 21% increase, homes in India's financial capital continue to shrink in size.
“Before Covid-19, apartment sizes were shrinking annually to meet the demand for compact homes prevalent then," said Anuj Puri, chairman of the Anarock Group.
"The central concerns were affordability and millennials’ preference for low-maintenance homes," Puri said. "2020 saw an abrupt reversal of buyer preferences. With a sudden emphasis on the WFH [work from home] and study-from-home culture, flat sizes began increasing for the first time in four years.”
As market normalcy has been restored post the pandemic, home sizes continue to be a consideration for Indian homebuyers. Average flat size across cities has grown 4.7% in two years since 2021, compared to 1.73% growth in the 2018-21 period.
Hyderabad had the largest average home size at 2,200 sq ft in January-March 2023, a 29% year-on-year growth. The National Capital Region followed, with the highest growth over a year earlier.
In 2023, Chennai and Mumbai flat sizes shrunk by 6% and 5%, respectively. This was the third straight yearly reduction in average home area for Mumbai.
Sufficient supply of larger homes may be an influencing factor in shrinking sizes in Mumbai and Chennai, according to Anarock. Mumbai is "hyper-expensive" and Chennai is "a very cost-sensitive market". In either case, it said, the supply of smaller and more affordable flats makes sense.
