Nifty Realty plunges 6.5% in biggest single-day drop in 7 months, down 21% from recent peak | Stock Market News

Real estate stocks emerged as the biggest laggards in the stock market crash on January 13, as all 10 constituents of the Nifty Realty index tumbled between 5% and 10%, causing the index to lose 6.50%. This was the index’s biggest intraday drop in the last seven months.

Various factors, such as concerns over a delay in US Fed rate cuts in 2025 following strong US jobs data, a moderation in housing sales during the December quarter, and slowing growth in the Indian economy, have weighed heavily on investor sentiment, leading to a sharp sell-off in realty stocks today.

4-day losing streak pulls Nifty Realty down by 21%

Today’s decline marked the fourth straight day of losses for the Nifty Realty index, pushing it to an 8-month low and resulting in a 21% correction from its December high of 1,137. 

Among individual stocks, Macrotech Developers led the losses with a 9.2% drop, followed by Phoenix Mills at 7.9%, Brigade Enterprises at 7.4%, and Sobha at 7.1%. Meanwhile, Godrej Properties, DLF, Oberoi Realty, Mahindra Lifespace, and Raymond fell by over 5%.

Today’s drop has caused some stocks to fall sharply from their one-year peaks. For instance, Raymond is now trading at a 57% discount from its one-year high. Similarly, Sobha, Mahindra Lifespace Developers, Godrej Properties, Prestige Estates Projects, and Macrotech Developers are down by 30% to 40% from their one-year highs. 

Factors driving the realty sell-off

The latest batch of US economic data, released on Friday, highlighted continued strong growth in the world’s largest economy. According to the report, the US added 256,000 jobs in December 2024—the most in nine months—following a downwardly revised 212,000 in November, once again beating market forecasts of 160,000.

The strong jobs data reinforces the US Fed’s view that it may slow down its rate-cut cycle in 2025 after announcing three cuts in the previous calendar year. Expectations now suggest that the Fed may hold off on rate cuts in the upcoming meeting and announce only one reduction this year. This outlook has driven investors toward the world’s reserve currency, the US Dollar, which crossed the 110 mark in today’s session.

Sector-specific concerns have also weighed on the realty sector. According to domestic brokerage firm JM Financial, a moderation in new launches witnessed in the first half of FY25 has persisted in the third quarter due to ongoing approval challenges, especially in Bengaluru, inevitably leading to lower pre-sales.

Going forward, the brokerage said the commentary on new launches remains a key monitorable, particularly for players with a strong pipeline in Bengaluru, as further delays could cause companies to fall short of their targeted pre-sales.

Meanwhile, PropEquity estimates that housing sales will fall by 21% annually across nine major cities during the October-December period (, reaching 1.08 lakh units due to a high base effect.

The real estate data analytics firm released sales numbers in late December for India’s top nine housing markets—Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Thane. It has projected sales growth only in Delhi-NCR.

As per the data, total residential property sales across these nine cities are expected to decline to 108,261 units in the current quarter compared to 137,225 units during the same period last year.

However, sales are likely to rise by 5% from 103,213 units recorded in the preceding September quarter.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.