This was a slump waiting to happen. And the new integrated master plan for Gurgaon and Manesar seems to be the trigger. Real estate prices in Gurgaon are witnessing a distinct downslide.

The real estate market in Gurgaon had been growing at a crazy pace ever since MNCs decided to set shop and the pace hadn't slowed down, that is until now.

According to real estate agents in Gurgaon, while the ready-to-move in residential market is still considerably hot, a lot of people now want to opt out of some under-construction projects.

"The plots market is seeing a downslide of at least 10 per cent," says a source. Even in the high-end residential market, people are finding it difficult to get out some projects.

"There is a certain softening in the market at present," he explains. Projects such as DLF's Westend Heights, Central Park, Unitech's Uniworld City and Nirvana are still holding on.

"The Gurgaon market is certainly down by 5 per cent," confirms the source. And there is likely to be further reduction soon owing to the new Gurgaon master plan. The new master plan encompasses 33,726 hectares, which is 3.4 times the area in the previous master plan.

More sectors have been added and Manesar has also been made a part of the plan. "Supply is expected to grow and with higher FDI inflows than ever, oversupply seems imminent," he says.

The high-end luxury apartments market which had seen a sudden spurt over the last couple of years is not doing well either.

According to Pankaj Renjhen, regional director, Trammell Crow Meghraj, "The supply in the high-end market far exceeds the demand." This is particularly true of projects on the Golf Course Road in Gurgaon where large format homes have been developed.

At the moment, the demand is more for Rs 45-70 lakh (Rs 4.5-7 million) homes rather than the high-end Rs 2-5 crore (Rs 20-50 million) properties, says Renjhen. But, the developers seem to be neglecting this segment.

According to Renjhen, stagnation has set in the high-end segment and there might be a 4-5 per cent decrease. This decrease could soon touch 10-15 per cent, he warns.

"There is a gross under supply in the mid-market segment," he says. "The only supply in this category is on Sohna Road. But, that's an area where no one wants to go. It is much cheaper to rent an apartment, instead, in central Gurgaon."