Analysts, however, said the quarter’s performance did not point to a structural weakening in housing demand. In fact, customer response remained healthy for projects launched during the quarter.
Akshay Shetty, research analyst, capital market strategy, Mirae Asset Sharekhan, described Q1 FY27 as a “mixed quarter” for listed developers, largely due to the timing of launches and approvals rather than a slowdown in underlying demand.
Pre-sales performance varied significantly among major developers. Godrej Properties led with bookings of ₹8,651 crore, up 22 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), while Lodha recorded bookings of ₹4,629 crore, up 4 per cent despite limited launches.
Prestige Estates reported bookings of ₹6,579 crore, down 46 per cent, due to a high base in Q1 FY26 that included strong bookings from its Indirapuram launch.
On a quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) basis, bookings were lower for most developers, a seasonally normal trend as Q4 typically sees stronger launches and sales closures.
Vijay Agrawal, managing director (MD) of infrastructure at Equirus Capital said pre-sales for the “announced universe” declined around 24 per cent Y-o-Y and 26 per cent Q-o-Q in Q1FY27.
Agrawal also said collections increased around 13 per cent Y-o-Y, highlighting continued execution and payment discipline.
Reported earnings during the quarter were uneven, with profitability influenced by project completions, handovers, project mix and revenue recognition.
Pankaj Kumar, vice-president, fundamental research, Kotak Securities, said reported revenues were uneven because of differences in project launches, deliveries and revenue recognition.
Quarterly profitability, he said, was driven more by project mix and deliveries than underlying bookings.
Amid the West Asia crisis, input costs were under pressure during April and May, particularly for aluminium, concrete, tiles, marble and other energy-intensive materials, according to Agrawal.
Steel prices declined, and supply availability began normalising from June.
However, analysts said that developers have so far not indicated meaningful pressure on project-level margins.
Prashant Thakur, executive director and head-research & advisory, Anarock Group, said the West Asia conflict had created some pressure on input costs through higher fuel, logistics and energy rates.
However, the impact on developer margins during the quarter was relatively limited. Lodha’s management, in its earnings’ call, highlighted that around 95 per cent of its supply chain is domestic.
Even under a prolonged geopolitical disruption, the management expects overall project costs to rise by only around 1-1.5 per cent. This translates into a limited 35-75-basis point (bps) impact on margins over the life of a project.
Analysts said the moderation in Q1 sales should not be interpreted as a broad-based decline in end-user demand. Agrawal said geopolitical uncertainty temporarily reduced footfalls and lengthened decision-making during April, particularly among select non-resident Indian (NRI) and premium customers. However, the momentum recovered from May-June.
The management’s commentary indicated stable walk-ins and conversion rates, he said.
Shetty said demand for projects from large branded developers remained healthy, with the moderation in Q1 sales largely due to launch timing, approval delays and high-base effects. Sales momentum is expected to improve as delayed projects receive approvals and developers bring their launch pipelines to market in the second half of FY27.
On costs, analysts expect the environment to remain manageable. Thakur said some pressure is likely to continue from fuel, logistics and construction-related costs. But he does not expect a significant margin impact unless there is a sharp and sustained increase in commodity and energy prices.
