New Delhi, July 1 -- The homebuying frenzy has ebbed with sales dropping sharply in the past three months. Rising home prices and geopolitical tensions played spoilsport after a four-year boom. Can softening mortgage rates and steady prices change the course of the downturn?

After three years of growth in home sales, the April-June quarter this year saw a big drop-20% in the big seven cities compared with the year-ago quarter, said Anarock Property Consultants. With the exception of Chennai, all the other major property markets witnessed home sales go down. Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune, the two best-selling markets in recent years, together accounted for nearly half of the total sales during the June-ended quarter. Pune and ...