Planning to buy a home or invest in real estate? Understanding how the property market is moving can help in making a more informed decision. The latest housing data presents a mixed but telling picture of the country’s residential landscape. While some cities have recorded double-digit growth in property prices over the past year, others have seen more moderate increases, and in a few cases, even declines.Overall, residential property prices continued to rise across most Indian cities in the first quarter of 2026, according to the Housing Price Index for the fourth quarter (January–March) of FY 2025–26, published by the National Housing Bank.The index, which tracks housing prices across 50 major cities using property valuation data collected from banks and housing finance companies, showed that housing prices saw an annual increase in 44 cities and a decline in six, recording an overall growth of 4.5% compared to last year. The prices grew 1.9% from the previous quarter.Among India’s major residential markets, Bengaluru emerged as the strongest performer, registering a 13.1% annual increase in home prices during the quarter.Chennai followed with an 8.6% rise, while Ahmedabad recorded a 7.2% increase.Kolkata saw home prices grow by 5.3%, followed by Mumbai at 4.5%. Hyderabad and Pune also registered an upward growth, with prices rising by 3.3% and 2.9%, respectively.Beyond the major metropolitan markets, Ludhiana recorded the highest increase among all 50 cities covered by the index, with home prices surging 22.2% compared to the same period last year.Interestingly, Delhi, home to the national capital, saw a 4.3% year-on-year decline in the quarter, while a comparatively smaller Ludhiana experienced a 22.2% annual surge, the highest among the 50 cities.Faridabad and Kochi recorded the strongest gains when compared to the last quarter, with housing prices increasing by 9.7% and 9.1%, respectively.Starting with the January-March quarter of 2026, the index is using FY 2024-25 as its new base year, replacing FY 2017-18 to better reflect the existing market conditions.
