Luxury Housing on a New High

On one hand, while affordable housing has seen a sharp dip in sales, luxury housing is clearly on the upswing with Hyderabad, Pune and NCR recording big jumps in sales. 

 The January-June 2023 residential sector data. by CBRE highlights key trends across various segments in the residential sector across the top 7 cities in India.

The luxury housing segment in India maintained strong sales momentum, registering a 130% Y-o-Y increase. Total sales of luxury units during JanuaryJune’23 period stood at 6900 compared to 3000 units during the same period last year. Among the leading cities in absolute terms, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Hyderabad emerged as prominent markets, combined accounting for nearly 90% of the total luxury housing sales across top seven cities. Hyderabad recorded the highest percentage increase in sales on a Y-o-Y basis with nearly 14-fold growth with total sales of 1400 units. This was followed by a nearly six-fold increase in sales in Pune and over three-fold jump in Delhi-NCR on a Y-o-Y basis. In terms of the quantum of sales of luxury residential units, Delhi-NCR topped with sales of 2,900-units, marking a 205%Y-o-Y increase, followed by Mumbai, which recorded sales of 1,900-units, with 18% Y-o-Y growth, while sales in Kolkata stood at 200 units, a 100%Y-oY increase, and Pune recorded sale of 300-units, registering a 500% Y-o-Y increase during this period.

A similar trend prevailed during the April-June’23 quarter in the luxury housing segment across the top cities registering a 121% Y-o-Y increase in sales. The quarter saw total sales of 3100 luxury housing units compared to 1400 units during the same quarter last year. Among the cities, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Hyderabad emerged as prominent markets during the quarter, while luxury sales in Hyderabad increased by 20 times, it jumped three-fold in Delhi-NCR.

The surge in demand for luxury housing was primarily driven by a growing preference for enhanced amenities and more spacious living areas. Moreover, it is the aspirational class that has been on an upward trend and driving luxury sales. Besides, the rise in NRI investments in the Indian real estate market has significantly contributed to the heightened demand for luxury properties.

Overall, in the residential sector, during January -June’23 period, a total of 154,000 units were sold, and over 151,000 new units were launched across all categories. During the January-June ’23 period, sales increased by about 3% compared to the same period a year ago, whereas new launches recorded a growth of 9% Y-o-Y basis, highlighting a substantial rise in the newly launched residential properties compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

Pune, Mumbai, and Bangalore emerged as the leading cities in terms of sales, accounting for an impressive 61% share in total sales in India during the January-June’23 period.

In terms of total unit launches in India, Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad dominated the activity, capturing a significant cumulative share of 65% in January- June ’23 period. This indicates a strong market dominance by these cities when it comes to introducing new residential projects.

During the April-June 23 quarter, sale of over 75,000 units, and over 70,000 new unit launches was recorded. Mumbai, Pune, and Hyderabad jointly dominated the market for apartment launches, having a cumulative share of 66%. Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Delhi-NCR accounted for maximum sales in April -June ‘23. Pune led sales, accounting for a 22% share, followed by Mumbai at 20%, Bangalore at 19%, while Delhi-NCR accounted for 15% of the share.

According to Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO-India, South-East Asia, Middle-East & Africa, CBRE, “We are witnessing an impressive growth and resilience of the luxury housing segment, as evident from the data showing a remarkable 130% increase in sales. This surge signifies the strong demand and positive momentum in the luxury housing market. Looking ahead, we anticipate a stronger second half of 2023 in the residential market, supported by factors such as a healthy supply pipeline, the approaching festive season, and stabilizing mortgage rates. Despite global macroeconomic challenges, we expect the residential sector to maintain robust sales momentum. Additionally, the premium and luxury segments are expected to perform well with new launches, and the volatility in mortgage rates on demand in this segment is anticipated to be limited.”

–Residential Outlook:

• Despite global macroeconomic headwinds, the residential sector is likely to witness healthy sales momentum due to stabilizing interest rates and the upcoming festive season.
• Capital value appreciation trends to remain divergent across cities and micro-markets; stabilizing inflationary trends and healthy wage growth could allow for some appreciation in capital value amid healthy sales momentum.
• Projects in the premium / luxury segment would continue to witness healthy traction amidst a spate of new launches; mortgage rates to have a relatively muted impact on demand from this segment.
• We expect another year of strong top-line and bottom-line performance by developers, leading to a healthy surplus cash generation and strengthening of balance sheets.
• Ongoing / new infrastructure initiatives to boost activity in established micro-markets and also result in the creation of new micro-markets; would result in greater traction across tier-II cities as well.