Studio apartments’ supply in 2020 drops for 1st time in 7 yrs

Anarock data showed that out of the total 884 projects launched in 2020 across the top seven cities, about 130 projects offered studio apartments (15 per cent share).

New Delhi: The share of studio apartments in new launches which had been rising since 2013 has witnessed a decline in 2020, according to a report by Anarock Property Consultants. It noted that until recently, millennials were consistently driving up the demand for studio apartments in the top seven cities, to such an extent that, over the last seven years, developers customarily offered this configuration in their projects.

“Studio apartments’ share in new launches had been rising y-o-y since 2013. However, the pandemic year of 2020 saw a sudden reversal of this trend,” it said. A studio apartment fundamentally consists of a single large room multitasking as living room and bedroom, with a small kitchenette. Only the bathroom is separated by a wall.

Studio apartments have traditionally been favoured by bachelors, students, newly-married couples beginning their home ownership journey with a ‘starter’ home, and business travellers who frequently visit a city for work.

Anarock data showed that out of the total 884 projects launched in 2020 across the top seven cities, about 130 projects offered studio apartments (15 per cent share). In contrast, of the 1,921 projects launched in 2019, around 368 (19 per cent) offered studio apartments.

Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Property Consultants said: “The studio apartments trend so far can be clearly plotted. Out of the total 2,102 projects launched in 2013 in the top seven cities, just 75 projects (or 4 per cent) offered studio apartments.

The share increased to 5 per cent in 2014, followed by a y-o-y increase in the overall share of projects offering this configuration.”He noted that the growth trend remained consistent till 2019, when the share was highest at about 19 per cent.

“In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, bringing with it the uniquely new WFH and study at home compulsions requiring larger homes,” said Puri. In a single year, studio apartments’ new supply share dipped to 15 per cent, he said.