Analysing the trends In Luxury Homes
India, a country that has been in the past largely referred to in context with high poverty levels, is emerging in the luxury housing market. Luxury housing projects have become a trend in the market with an increasing number of people opting for it. Over the past few years, a number of luxury housing projects have been successfully conceptualised and marketed. Modern homes today are a lifestyle statement that feature the aspirations of people who want their houses to reflect their social and financial standing. Luxury residential properties have become a fast growing segment of the real-estate business which attracts a number of domestic developers as well as many foreign investors.
The developers today focus on creating unique living spaces. Usage of latest technology and gadgets to control temperature, ambience and light, providing the residents with wireless internet and in-house entertainment is an upcoming trend in most modern housing spaces. Luxury homes come as apartments, pent-houses, sub-urban villas and bungalows etc.
Many developers focus on building residential homes that provide all luxury amenities to meet the high end luxurious requirements of the buyers. Few years ago, while buying a premium house, location was the prime focus. While location stills continues to remain a key factor, the concept of branded residences are emerging where developers tie-up with international luxury hospitality or lifestyle brands. A number of developers also opt for making celebrities their brand ambassadors.
As the numbers of affluent individuals are rising, the demand for luxury homes have spread beyond the metro cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, etc. Branded housing projects target the super-rich segment of the society that prefer conveniences and believe in luxury designed homes marketed by international lifestyle brand. Most luxury residential properties focus on king size living and are paired with top quality interiors, bathroom fittings and kitchen decors.
Luxury housing segment is reaching new heights in all the metro cities. The new launches in this sector attracts a no. of NRIs and the demand for luxury homes with a price-tag of upto Rs 1-20 crore is noticeable in the Indian realty sector.
However, the market for super luxury homes is not more than 5 per cent in India. Despite these growth projections, the sales velocity is slow. At present, the luxury residential market is going through a phase of low demand. Despite the sluggish sales in the real estate sector, a no. of luxury homes have been launched in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Chennai. The growth of these residences is based on various factors:
Rise in the number of high net-worth individuals (HNIs)
Lifestyle aspirations of people in this growing economy
The rapid pace of urbanisation in India
Influence of global lifestyle trends
An increase in the number of non resident Indians (NRIs)
Recent fall in the value of rupee in global financial markets triggering buyers’ interest to invest in luxury housing. A luxury apartment is considered as a perfect investment because of the high return on investment and completely makes sense for people looking for high-end investments.
In India’s largest cities – namely Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Pune – luxury and ultra-luxury residential projects have witnessed a sharp rise in the demand.
Mumbai has always topped the list for expensive real estate. The demand for super luxury homes ranging between Rs 4 crore to Rs 30 crore has increased by 30 to 40 percent in the financial capital of India. The increasing demands have made the developers think about new ideas and innovative plans.
Currently, there is limited land space within the city and therefore a no. of compromises have to be made. Luxurious apartment in Mumbai might be just located opposite a slum. Irrespective of the ambience, people still book these apartments for crore of rupees in order to dwell within the city.
Delhi , the capital city of India is already renowned for its cream crowd and their choice of luxury apartments. Demand for luxury and ultra-luxury housing is definitely at a high in Delhi but in cities like Gurgaon & Noida this demand has always outpaced supply, which has encouraged developers to increasingly shift their focus on this segment. Gurgaon is home to a considerable number of HNIs who account for a lot of demand for any project launched in this category.
The housing market in Bangalore has not seen major setbacks even during the worst of the real estate market slowdown. Bangalore, the “Silicon Valley of India” can offer attractive surroundings while delivering a luxury project unlike Mumbai. With a splendidly high saturation of highly educated and qualified IT professionals, it has for the longest time been the city of choice for most of software development and IT-enabled business processes. The real estate in Bangalore is proving to be a huge success because of its promising infrastructure and a good number of luxury housing projects in prime locations.
Last but not the least, Pune may not be the largest city as compared to Mumbai, Bangalore or Delhi but Pune’s residential market is also well known for a second home concept. Business Tycoons and corporate, NRIs returning to Pune, investors and the end users from Mumbai prefers Pune as their preferred location for investing in a Luxury home. Currently there are a number of high end residential projects in the bracket of Rs 4 crore and above. The luxury housing is still an emerging segment in Pune in terms of technical aspects and specifications as per the markets in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. The buyers benefit of investing in larger size properties in lesser prices as compared to the far more expensive cities.
Even though luxury housing currently has a small share in the Indian realty space, with the economy set to improve, its share is only bound to increase in the coming years.
Siddharth Vasudevan, Executive Director Corporate Affairs, Vascon Engineers Ltd.
Siddharth Vasudevan holds a Bachelor in Applied Science in construction management (HONS) from Singapore Institute of Management. He also holds a Diploma Degree in Civil Engineering from Sinhgad Institute of Technology, Pune.
The views expressed in this article are the author´s own.
