Indian luxury segment growing with new trends
Luxury homes
Indian real estate sector has witnessed impact of lifestyle driven quotients in the last decade or so. Luxury housing segment has been on the rise and demand for the luxury homes is witnessed in all the metros. Driven by new launches in the sector, continuous influx of NRIs and changing lifestyles of end users, the demand for luxury and ultra-luxury homes with a price-tag of up to Rs 1-20 crore, is considerably noticeable in the Indian realty sector.
Despite sluggish sales in overall real estate sector, a few luxury residential projects were launched in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai in October, 2012. There are factors behind the growth of luxury residential units –
(1) Rise in the number of high net-worth individuals (HNIs)
(2) Lifestyle aspirations of people in this growing economy
(3) The rapid pace of urbanisation in India
(4) Influx of global lifestyle trends
(5) An increase in the number of non resident Indians (NRIs)
(6) Recent fall in the value of rupee in global financial markets triggering buyers’ interest to invest in luxury housing
There have been a total of 182 luxury residential apartments launched between 2008-2012. A total of 25,570 units across the top seven cities of NCR-Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata were launched, whose value comes around USD 30 billion.
The value of these luxury homes is driven by 1.53 lakh HNIs whose numbers continue to grow. They are the people who inherited wealth and have dynamic lifestyles, as well as people in the newly rich segment. Besides, there are NRIs who wish to return to the country and look for homes which will have all the amenities and luxury they need, prompting developers to launch luxury homes with all the state of the art facilities.
Trends in luxury housing
Developers are increasingly adding lifestyle amenities such as golf greens, schools, hyper-marts, jogging tracks, independent swimming pools, home automation, modern clubs with exclusive members’ lounges, spas, jacuzzis and gyms to attract buyers. Theme based apartments/homes have made their way into the Indian realty market which offer world class designs and architecture from various cultures – British rowhouses, Spanish villas or Mediterranean flats – offering unique living experiences to the buyer.
Location continues to be the key factor for luxury housing in India. Indian realty sector focuses on homes with high lifestyle quotients as close as possible to the workplace of the buyer. It creates demand for luxury housing in certain areas, leading to scarcity of available supply in geographically limited cities like Mumbai.
Luxury projects in India are increasingly going vertical. Going vertical is the only option left for luxury hubs like the island city of Mumbai. All the big players like Lodha, Sunteck, Kohinoor Developers, Sobha, DLF, Hiranandani are offering luxury homes in cities like Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and NCR cities mainly.
Innovation in luxury segment
The developers are coming up with new innovations to woo the potential buyer to render exquisite lifestyle status. For example, Mumbai-based Lodha Group has partnered with Italian designer Giorgio Armani’s interior design studio, Armani Casa, for the World Towers residential project in central Mumbai. The project includes World One, the world’s tallest residential tower with 117 floors.
Developers also focus on creating ‘intelligent’ living spaces through latest gadgets and technology. Digital locks, electronic surveillance systems, temperature control, wireless communication for internet and in-house entertainment are common in most of the luxury homes. Some of the new technologies include systems with sensors to enable residents to control ambiance, light, temperature, etc. through pre-programmed machines.
When we talk of challenges in the luxury segment, there are infrastructural issues that need to be addressed. Unlike in developed countries, enforcing strict norms regarding to structural safety, disaster, environment and fire safety in high rises presents a challenge in India.
