By Akash Pharande, Managing Director – Pharande Spaces

The Pune residential real estate market in 2025 tells a mixed story, as below the city’s strong fundamentals was a lot of stress. The city went from a period of rapid growth to a more stable, selective market, with affordability and changing buyer demographics becoming more defining characteristics in the year.

The Highs: Strong registration in the face of uncertainty

At first glance, 2025 saw many transactions. Pune had its best property registration run in four years, with over 1.70 lakh transactions from January to November, only slightly higher than in the same time period in 2024. The holiday season was critical because in September alone, registrations jumped by over 22% from the previous year. By November, the city had been going strong with over 14,200 registrations.

But despite the overall strength, there was a big decline in actual unit sales. According to property consultants ANAROCK, Pune’s housing sales for the whole year of 2025 fell 20% from 81,090 units in 2024 to 65,135 units. This was the second-largest drop among major cities, after Mumbai’s 18% drop.

This difference between registration volumes and unit sales shows what really happened – the market moved more towards luxury, with higher-value transactions making up most of registrations. Buyers in Pune’s affordable segment either put off buying or got off the market for now. For a market which was once defined by rational, affordable housing prices, this is worrisome.

Central Pune and PCMC

Central Pune, which includes PMC, PCMC, and Haveli Taluka in terms of municipal boundaries, remained the city’s real estate engine and contributed over 60% of all housing transactions in 2025. This is mainly due to this corridor’s proximity to the city’s IT job hubs and well-established social infrastructure.

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) specifically benefited from micro-market tailwinds. Prices in the area rose over 10% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024. This increase was slightly faster than Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s 8.7% growth, which was driven by new corridors in Moshi, Punawale, and Wakad.

The rental yields of PCMC remained powerful, and Ravet currently had the highest annual returns of 4.3% among emerging zones, which is much higher than Mumbai’s 2.5% benchmark.

This rental performance continues to pull yield-focused investors who see PCMC as the right bet to earn excellent risk-adjusted returns. Properties in Ravet and Nigdi are currently priced in the Rs. 6,500–9,000 per square foot range, making them attractive for first-time and mid-range end-users who cannot afford western corridors like Baner (priced between Rs. 9,000–13,000/sqft) and Kharadi (Rs. 9,500–14,500/sqft).

The Lows: High Property Prices = More Unsold Inventory

In 2025, there was a significant decline in affordability in Pune. To illustrate – a 60 lakh flat that cost 40 lakh in 2020 now costs Rs. 12,000–18,000 more per month in EMI, even with small rate cuts.

Sales in the under-Rs. 50 lakh range fell sharply, with some areas seeing drops of 5–30% year-on-year. The problem of unsold inventory got worse – by the middle of 2025, Pune had more than 75,000 unsold units, and the inventory overhang was well over 10 months (the longest since 2020). By the end of the year, there were over 77,800 units lying unsold in the primary market.

This excess supply has tied up developer capital and threatens to impact pricing negatively in 2026.

Sectoral & Geopolitical Challenges

Even though India’s economy was mostly protected from global commodity shocks and financial instability, 2025 was still a tough year for sectors that depend on jobs. The technology industry, which is Pune’s main source of demand, saw significant layoffs and hiring freezes, especially in the second and third quarters.

Geopolitical tensions affected supply chains and investor sentiment, and tariff uncertainties unsettled NRI investment flows. It is worth noting that NRI demand has historically helped Pune’s real estate market – and its overall economy – during downturns.

The combined effect resulted in homebuyers becoming increasingly hesitant in the middle segment, which is precisely where most developers had concentrated their supply. Luxury did well, but it still accounts for less than 20% of Pune’s annual housing sales. In other words, 80% of the market requires stronger demand signals in 2026.

2026 Outlook: Good for End-users, Neutral for Investors

All leading real estate consultants agree that the housing industry’s future currently looks more like stabilisation than recovery. Prices are expected to rise at a slower rate of 5–10% per year. This is healthy by historical standards of inflation, but it also means that in most areas, investors will not see the kind of 10-15% appreciation seen from 2020 to 2024.

This is not a bad thing. It will help increase affordability as people’s salaries and investment growth catch up with housing prices, something that has been overdue for the last 2–3 years. However, if slower price increases become the norm in 2026 and possibly beyond, there will be exceptions. Infrastructure delivery will be the major differentiator for areas and projects.

For example, the delayed completion of the Pune Metro Phase 1 is expected to happen in mid-to-late 2026. This can cause prices in 500-meter corridors to go up by 15–20%. The Ring Road will open up areas on the outskirts, so impacted areas will see prices appreciate by 20–25% as redevelopment nodes form at important intersections. Likewise, the Purandar Airport project will transform the southern corridor of Pune.

As of the end of 2025, affordability is definitely still a problem in Pune. The market movement towards the mid-premium and luxury housing segments is driving many buyers either to the outskirts or off the market. Developers need to change the supply mix in their projects and make sure that “price discovery” remains rational and aligned with actual demand.