new delhi dec 16 rating agency icra has maintained a negative outlook for housing because of subdued demand slow sales oversupply and liquidity crunch in its yearend assessment of the real estate sector icra has maintained a negative outlook for the residential real estate segment and a stable outlook for commercial real estate segment the agency said in a statement the performance of the housing segment continues to be muted owing to the prevailing liquidity crunch high inventory overhang weak affordability and subdued demand conditions sales traction remains slow particularly in markets with large unsold stock such as delhincr mumbaimmr and pune resulting in continued oversupply icra said with most of the unsold inventory comprising either units with high ticket sizes or units located in peripheral areas with weak network infrastructure the challenges associated with liquidation of the stock are expected to continue on the positive side the sales in the subrs 50 lakh segment have witnessed considerable momentum and given the government incentives for development and offtake of affordable housing units positive trends in both demand and supply for this segment are expected to continue going forward icra further said with homebuyers increasingly leaning towards reputed developers with an established track record of ontime and quality project completion larger players have been registering healthy sales and project launch levels despite the overall sluggishness in the industry thus the market share of such developers has been increasing and this trend in market consolidation is expected to continue structural changes including the implementation of rera gst and ibc as well as the earlier demonetisation drive have further underpinned this consolidation and have supported confidence levels among homebuyers nonetheless a broadbased recovery in demand across the sector appears to be some time away icra said the rating agency said that the liquidity crunch in nonbanking financial company nbfc and housing finance company hfc segment is a challenge for new housing supply icra however said the government measures such as the establishment of a rs 25000 crore funds for stalled housing projects may alleviate some of the execution or deliveryrelated issues going forward concerns on overall stock levels however remain a moderate level of new launches combined with the existing inventory overhang and low sales traction is expected to lead to overall inventory levels registering modest growth over the neartomedium term with the muchneeded liquidation of the same being contingent on a widescale recovery in demand the agency said consequently icra expects residential real estate developers to maintain a cautious stance towards new project launches and land acquisition deals with continuing weakness in homebuyer sentiment demand is expected to remain muted particularly for projects which are underdevelopment and for units with high ticket sizes it added mjh shw shw