New Delhi, Apr 24 (IANS): Around 78,000 ready-to-move-in housing units, valued at Rs 65,950 crore, remain unsold in the country, according to a report by Anarock Property Consultants.

It accounts for nearly 12 per cent of the 6.44 lakh unsold units in cities. The report suggests that homebuyers seeking de-risked ready-to-move-in properties can leverage the COVID-19 period to their advantage.

The report said that although construction activity is completely halted across India, first-time homebuyers are at an unprecedented advantage to negotiate good deals on ready-to-move-in options and simultaneously benefit from all-time low interest rates of 7.15-7.8 per cent.

Anuj Puri, Chairman, Anarock Property Consultants, said: "Of the total unsold ready stock, MMR and Pune together have approximately 35,200 units, which are collectively worth Rs 37,550 crore. This accounts for 57 per cent of the total value of ready unsold homes across all top seven cities."

The National Capital Region (NCR) has around 15,600 unsold ready units, followed by Bengaluru with nearly 10,100 apartments. Hyderabad has least unsold ready stock of around 2,400 homes worth Rs 1,870 crore.

Puri was of the view that the lockdown period has kick-started rapid technology-led evolution on the Indian real estate market.

"Some states are now also mulling the introduction of e-registration of property documents, thereby completing the entire value chain. This is necessary since physical site visits are unlikely to pick up quickly even after the lockdown ends, as both buyers and sellers will remain wary," he said.