The demand for under-construction apartments dipped to 2,58,281 units in the 2019-20 fiscal from 3,08,113 units in the previous year.

The share of ready-to-move-in residential properties in the overall housing sales is expected to increase and may reach 30 per cent during this fiscal, PropTiger said.

Project delays by multiple builders have shaken buyers’ confidence in the property market. Dhruv Agarwala, Group CEO, PropTiger.com, said: “Housing demand remained subdued during FY20 because of the slowdown in the country’s economic growth. The global outbreak of coronavirus during the January-March quarter added to the woes faced by the Indian real estate sector over the last few years. Housing sales are generally higher in the second half of the fiscal and hence the impact of COVID-19 was more pronounced.”

“With under-construction projects likely to be delayed because of the nationwide lockdown, we strongly believe that customers’ preference for completed units will further strengthen,” he said.