Demand soars for ultra-luxury mansions as real estate majors race to launch new offerings

That was the first such deal to surpass the Rs 100-crore threshold typically associated with Lutyens Delhi bungalows. A few months later, in February 2024, another swanky apartment was acquired for over Rs 100 crore by Smiti Agarwal, the spouse of Hemant Agarwal, Chairman and MD of mass market retail major V-Bazaar, in the same complex of DLF’s upscale township—DLF Golf Links. The apartment, which spreads over 10,800 sq. ft, and comes with parking for five cars, was valued at Rs 95 crore, with Agarwal paying a few more crores as stamp duty and related charges. The dream run of ultra-luxury homes continues. In March, Vasudha Rohatgi, the wife of former Attorney General of India and renowned senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, purchased a 2,100-sq.-yard (approximately 19,000 sq. ft) bungalow for Rs 160 crore in Delhi’s Golf Links.

Although such jaw-dropping deals are nothing new, the country’s residential real estate market is embracing luxury like never before. The Covid-19 pandemic and its related disruptions resulted in a transition that contributed to the rise in luxury home sales in India, according to Akash Ohri, Joint Managing Director and Chief Business Officer, DLF Homes Developers. “Covid-19 marked a turning point in how homebuyers perceive their homes, and we quickly adapted to meet these changing needs. What was once just a place to retreat after a busy day has now become the epicentre of our lives. This shift challenged us, but it also gave us the opportunity to reshape our offerings and cater to a new mindset,” Ohri tells Business Today.

But what changed? “Today’s buyers want more than just a beautiful home—they want expansive spaces, flexibility for hybrid work, wellness, and above all, an enhanced lifestyle,” Ohri adds.

Dlf, the largest luxury home developer in the country, recognised the trend early. Luxury has transcended beyond the materials and the design of the property, says Ohri. True luxury now encompasses a holistic experience—one that features unmatched services, outstanding hospitality, and an emphasis on health and wellness. “This is embedded in our DNA. We have always believed that a luxury home is about more than brick and mortar; it’s about the quality of life it offers. Globally, the ultra-luxury real estate market has seen a significant shift toward experience-driven living. Buyers are increasingly seeking homes that offer more than just a status symbol; they are looking for spaces that cater to their personal well-being, lifestyle, and convenience,” he says.

Capitalising on the boom in luxury home sales and leveraging its early-mover advantage, DLF has successfully sold some Rs 22,000 crore worth of luxury homes in the past 15 months across three major projects: The Arbour, DLF Privana West, and DLF Privana South. One area experiencing a convergence of India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) is along Gurugram’s Golf Course Road. Once an emerging market, Gurugram has now established itself as a formidable competitor to Mumbai in terms of pricing of luxury real estate.

But that’s not all. The NCR market, which is the second-largest luxury market in the country after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in the country, is throwing up figures that are unprecedented. Take the Noida market, for instance. Plagued by stagnant projects and dishonest developers, it now attracts HNIs, eager to buy properties worth more than Rs 30 crore. To capitalise on the increasing demand, Noida-based real estate major Gaurs Group launched its Mulberry Mansions project, offering independent homes with five bedrooms, priced between Rs 30 crore and Rs 40 crore, located over 30 km away from Delhi’s city centre in Sector-1 of Greater Noida West. Manoj Gaur, CMD, Gaurs Group, and Chairman, CREDAI National, says the luxury real estate market in India is undergoing a transformation and experiencing robust growth. “With the country’s economy on a solid foundation, [we expect] this trajectory to gain further momentum. Moreover, an increasing number of HNIs and UHNIs are seeking homes that reflect their status, which will continue to fuel the segment’s expansion,” he adds.

Gulshan Dynasty, another high-end real estate project located in Sector 144, off the Noida Expressway, features a luxury apartment complex comprising three towers, each 34 floors high. The price tag for its 198 residential units, including six duplexes, exceeds Rs 8.5 crore. Expected to be completed by next year, the 5.8-acre project has a starting rate of Rs 30,500 per sq. ft. This is an area where the average rates of premium homes range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 per sq. ft. Industry experts indicate that multiple factors are driving demand for luxury homes. One significant development that has turned the Noida market around is consolidation, says Amit Modi, Director at Noida-based realtor County Group. Additionally, several key infrastructure developments, including the ongoing construction of the Noida airport, the creation of dedicated industrial sectors, the development of data centre land banks, and the expansion of road, rail, and metro networks, among others, are responsible for this change, he says.

Moreover, there is also a shift toward larger spaces and iconic projects by esteemed developers, providing world-class amenities and enriching lifestyles, Gaur notes. Industry experts, including Vikas Wadhawan, Chief Financial Officer of REA India (Housing.com/PropTiger.com Group), point toward the rising aspirations of Delhi residents as a factor contributing to the surge in luxury home sales in the Gurugram and Noida markets, in addition to the aforementioned factors. “Apart from HNIs, many Delhi residents with homes in the capital are moving to luxury apartments in Gurugram in search of quality life and world-class amenities,” he says.

The trend is the same in Mumbai, the country’s traditional luxury market and also the most mature one for large-scale projects. Real estate major Prestige Group is banking on the market’s unwavering demand for premium homes and has launched three new luxury and uber-luxury projects in the prime locations of South Mumbai and Bandra. Prestige Ocean Towers in Marine Lines offers uber-luxury four-bedroom sea-view residences with a starting price of Rs 25 crore. Designed by Fosters & Partners and Architect Hafeez Contractor, these swanky adobes have an expanse of 2,500 sq. ft carpet area, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Queen’s Necklace (Marine Drive). Prestige Daffodils is a boutique uber luxury project in Pali Hill, Bandra West; here, the residences range from 2,300 sq. ft to 3,800 sq. ft, with an extravagant penthouse spreads over 9,000 sq. ft. Each four-bedroom residence is priced between Rs 30 crore and Rs 50 crore. And its third project, Prestige Jasdan Classic, located in Mahalaxmi, is expected to be delivered next year. The Bengaluru-headquartered firm, according to Swaroop Anish, Executive Director & CEO, Residential, Prestige Group, is gearing up to launch another uber-luxury development in Worli soon.

Bengaluru is also making significant strides; post-Covid, the Silicon Valley of India is also rapidly emerging as a luxury home market. “As homebuyers are now willing to move away from the city centre in search of larger premium homes, it has become convenient to develop bigger projects in the suburbs, which require large land parcels,” Anish tells BT. In Bengaluru, Prestige has lined up several such projects with houses priced between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 4 crore.

The demand for luxury homes extends beyond just the top three markets. According to CBRE India, luxury homes have gained traction across the top seven residential home markets in India—MMR, NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata—over the past few years. As per JLL, sales of luxury homes jumped 96% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2024; in fact, their share in total sales has increased from a meagre 2% in 2020 to 6% at the end of September 2024. As demand for luxury apartments and villas peaks, developers are lining up premium offerings like never before. The share of luxury homes in overall projects launched in these markets has jumped from 1% in 2020 to 8% during January–September 2024. In 2023, a total of 12,935 luxury homes were sold across the seven markets; that figure has already been matched in the first nine months of 2024. New launches, totalling 17,090 units from January to September 2024, have already surpassed the total launches of last year by 8%.

“More and more projects are coming up in the luxury category, which is the Rs 5 crore and above price band. Today’s numbers are many times of what they used to be 10 years back, when some 2,500-3,000 units used to be launched in the luxury segment,” says Abhinav Joshi, Head of Research-India, Middle East & North Africa at CBRE.

According to Ohri, the current demand for luxury real estate is primarily driven by UHNIs, HNIs, non-resident Indians (NRIs), and senior corporate professionals, including C-suite executives. “These groups [of people] are increasingly seeing real estate as a stable and resilient asset, especially in the face of economic uncertainties brought about by the pandemic. For NRIs, in particular, there has been a noticeable shift in investment priorities. The volatility in the global markets, coupled with the desire to maintain a strong connection with their homeland, has prompted many to view India as the ideal destination for real estate investment,” he explains. Additionally, steady price appreciation of luxury homes by reputed developers has also played a key role in garnering interest from HNIs. For instance, since the pandemic, prices at DLF’s The Aralias have surged from Rs 12-12.5 crore to over Rs 30 crore, while in The Magnolias prices have risen from Rs 16-16.5 crore to Rs 40 crore.

“In recent years, there has been a remarkable rise in demand for larger homes in these iconic residential developments, a trend that is going to persist. Luxury apartments have also increasingly come to be viewed as attractive investment options. Furthermore, the growing participation of NRIs will play a significant role in this segment’s growth,” says Gaur. Going ahead, there will also be an increased focus on sustainability and smart home features in such properties, Gaur adds. Overall, India’s luxury real estate appears well-positioned for continued strong growth.

@arndutt