The top 25 listed real estate firms of India suffered a decline of 46 per cent in their combined sales volume in the quarter ended December 31, 2013, global real estate consultancy Knight Frank said in its latest report.

The newly published report said the to 25 real estate firms' sales volume slipped to 11.8 million square feet in December quarter of 2013, from 20.73 million square feet in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

A number of factors, including high rates of interest, high prices of properties, and job uncertainties, were held responsible for the decline in sales. In western parts of the country, unaffordable prices and execution risks brought sales to almost a grinding halt. As per compiled figures, average price of residential properties in the region jumped 16-17 per cent over the past eight quarters.

Knight Frank said in the report, "High interest rates and high real estate prices, coupled with uncertain job prospects, deterred end-users from committing themselves to the largest buy of their life."

Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Director of Research at the real estate consultancy added that the combination of delay in approvals, high cost and slow growth in sales dried up liquidity in the real estate sector, which hit the construction activity across the country very hard.

Dr. Das acknowledged that the economy was showing signs of improvement, but underlined that the improvement was being overshadowed by political uncertainty ahead of the upcoming general elections.