India's DLF (DLF.NS) sold a $1 billion upmarket residential project in 72 hours while rival Godrej Properties (GODR.NS) is offering $3 million apartments to clients selected by invitation, two off-plan sales that are signalling a revival in luxury housing.
Property developers say spacey high-price apartments that come with add-ons like concierge services, spas, multi-level parking, large green open spaces and a heated pool have become the rage. There are no such amenities in the individual houses and old apartment blocks that dominate India's cramped and crowded cities.
Many people want to upgrade their homes after the COVID-19 pandemic confined them indoors, industry executives say. Working from home has also led to a demand for larger apartments, supported by rising incomes and India's growing number of nouveau riche.
DLF's Arbour project in Gurugram near New Delhi attracted more than 3,000 applications for 1,137 apartments priced at $869,000 each, extremely high prices for the area. The booking centre was besieged by people queuing to buy homes during the project launch weekend in February.
"I haven't seen such a mad rush in a decade," said Prashant Thakur, head of research at real estate consultant Anarock. "The luxury residential market is on the path to revival."
Varun Arora, a 37-year-old investment professional, said he is looking to upgrade from his current rented apartment to the DLF development which he said he likes for its grand reception area, high-speed elevators and enough area to jog without having to leave the complex.
"Having a green, open, clean space with restricted access (to outsiders) is of supreme importance. You don't want to run on the road. From a lifestyle standpoint that is paramount," he said.
Supply of new luxury homes in India has been constrained in recent years, hit by an economic slowdown in 2019 and then the pandemic, which dampened sentiment in 2020 and forced developers to put brakes on new project launches.
Anarock data shows that luxury condominiums, defined as those selling above 15 million rupees ($183,000), accounted for 17% of all housing launches in 2022, touching an at least five-year high. And launches of once-popular affordable homes - those priced below 4 million rupees (around $50,000) - halved to 20% of the total in the period.
In all, a record 65,700 luxury units were sold in 2022, three times the previous year, with Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad leading sales. In 2019, before the pandemic, 18,150 units were sold.
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