Glossy penthouses may dominate real estate ads but developers say the real money-spinner is the mid-income housing. Homes priced between Rs 80 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore drove record presales and steady cash flows in the June quarter, outpacing luxury as well as affordable segments.
Knight Frank India data shows that in the first half of 2025, more than 46,500 units were sold in this bracket, accounting for 27 percent of total sales. For 2024, sales stood at about 90,800 units, with a 26 percent share of mid-income houses. This marks a sharp rise from 2018, when the segment contributed only 11 percent to overall sales.
“Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune sales in this segment grew by 26 percent, 33 percent and 22 percent respectively. Developers across all cities are well geared to cater to this segment. The fact that 31 percent of units launched belong to this segment compared to 27 percent of total sales shows that there is enough development focus here,” Vivek Rathi, national director– research, Knight Frank India, said.
Godrej Properties reported bookings worth Rs 7,082 crore in Q1FY26 from 4,231 homes across 6.17 million square feet. Bengaluru and Greater Noida contributed heavily, with Godrej MSR City in the tech city accounting for sales of Rs 2,426 crore.
“Between 70 percent to 90 percent of inventory in key launches is being sold quickly, even with price hikes,” said Godrej Properties managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Gaurav Pandey told analysts in a post-Q1 earnings call.
Lodha Developers also highlighted mid-income segment’s resilience. CEO Abhishek Lodha said weekly non-launch sales in July were Rs 275–280 crore ahead of the previous year.
“There is good, strong on-ground demand across different segments, and there is a continued strengthening in the mid-income demand,” he said.
Prestige Estates also reported its “strongest quarterly performance to date”. The company sold 4,718 units across 9.55 million square feet. Chairman and MD Irfan Razack said the response to its maiden launch in National Capital Region (NCR), which includes Delhi, was “phenomenal with nearly 80 percent of the inventory sold at launch”.
What is driving this growth?
According to Ravi Shankar Singh, MD, Residential Transaction Services at Colliers India, “With the median population age in India still at just 28 and affordable options shrinking, this Rs 80 lakh–Rs 1.5 crore bracket is where real growth lies. Infrastructure upgrades and easing interest rates will only accelerate this momentum over the next two years.”
These buyers tend to be more resilient to price hikes and rate changes, he said.
Rathi said stable income growth, easy availability of bank finance, increasing need for space (nuclearisation) and availability of lifestyle-oriented projects have been driving volumes. “Comparatively lower interest rates and better affordability should help sustain demand in the short term,” he added.
Which cities are doing well?
Cities like Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and parts of NCR are seeing robust mid-income absorption. Developers are increasingly launching projects in these areas to meet sustained demand, Singh said.
Rathi said Bengaluru, Chennai and Pune are seeing the fastest growth rates in this segment, with sales up 26 percent, 33 percent and 22 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2025.
Godrej Properties’ sales were led by Bengaluru and Greater Noida. Prestige also recorded its highest ever sales contribution from NCR at 59 percent followed by Bengaluru at 21 percent, Mumbai at 12 percent and Hyderabad at 5 percent.
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