Mid-income housing sales surge 58% in H1 2026

Mid-income housing sales rose 58 per cent in the first half of 2026, according to The Realty Times. The rise covers homes priced between Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. In the same period, the affordable housing segment, made up of homes priced below Rs 50 lakh, recorded a fall of 32 per cent, with rising unsold inventory adding to its strain.

The two movements point in opposite directions. Mid-income housing sales grew fast, while affordable homes shrank. The report describes the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore band as a growth driver in the residential market, and the affordable band as a part of the market under pressure.

Mid-income housing sales and the Rs 1.5 crore homes

Buyers in the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore band are looking for larger homes, better facilities and homes in well connected locations, the report says. Rs 1.5 crore homes in this band appeal to buyers who want more space than a smaller flat gives, and who want modern facilities in the building and the area around it. The demand in this band comes in part from professionals with stable incomes, business owners and families who are moving up from a home they already own.

Mid-income housing sales in this band also reflect a shift in what developers build. Developers have put more of their effort into mid to premium and luxury projects, where demand has held up better than in the lower price bands. The report links the shift to better road and rail links in many cities, to urban infrastructure work and to the range of facilities now offered in new projects. A buyer in this band can often choose among several projects in the same part of a city.

The growth in mid-income housing sales does not mean that every buyer in this band faces the same choice. A home priced at Rs 1.5 crore and a home priced at Rs 3 crore sit at opposite ends of the band, and the gap between them is wide. The report gives one growth figure for the whole band, so it does not show whether growth was stronger at the lower end or the upper end of the band.

Affordable housing segment faces inventory pressure

The affordable housing segment fell 32 per cent in the first half of 2026. Homes in this segment are priced below Rs 50 lakh. The report ties the fall to rising unsold inventory in the segment. Unsold inventory grows when more homes are built or listed than buyers take up, and it leaves developers holding stock that takes longer to sell.

This segment faces a different set of pressures from the higher bands. Buyers in this segment have less room in their budgets, so a rise in prices or in borrowing costs hits them harder. Developers in this segment also work with thinner margins, so a slowdown in sales leaves them less room to cut prices or to wait for buyers to return. The report does not give a separate figure for unsold stock in the segment, but it names rising inventory as part of the strain on affordable homes.

The contrast between the two segments matters for the shape of new supply. When mid to premium projects sell faster, developers have a reason to keep building in those bands. When affordable homes sell slower, developers have less reason to start new affordable projects. Over time, that pattern can leave fewer new affordable homes on the market, even while demand for lower priced homes remains.

What the first half mid-income housing sales figures show

The first half figures describe sales, not prices or launches, for the two bands. The 58 per cent rise in mid-income housing sales and the 32 per cent fall in affordable homes are the two headline numbers in The Realty Times report. The mid-income housing sales figures cover the first half of 2026, and they cover homes in the Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore band and homes below Rs 50 lakh.

The report does not break the figures down by city, and it does not give total sales counts for either band. It also does not say how the second half of the year will turn out. The figures stand as a record of the first half, in which mid-income housing sales rose sharply while affordable homes fell back, with unsold inventory rising in the affordable part of the market.