Demand for luxury homes in India rises after Covid; here's what research data suggests

New Delhi: Luxury housing segment has performed quite well in India post the pandemic, with overall sales rising steeply across the top 7 metros.

Property consultant ANAROCK Research data shows that 14 per cent of the total housing units sold during the first half of 2022 (January-June) were luxury homes. A total of 1.84 lakh housing units were sold in the top seven cities during the period, of which approximately 25,700 were from the luxury segment. In the same period last year, just 7 per cent were from the luxury segment, the property consultant said.

"These sales figures are even more remarkable if we consider that it is mainly end-users who are driving luxury housing sales across these cities today," said Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Group.

"Even though the typical buyers in this segment were not as impacted by the pandemic as the rest, high net individuals are conscious of cost. Discounts by developers made luxury properties very attractive for these buyers and non-resident Indians have also been snapping up luxury homes in India because of the favourable exchange rate," Puri added.

Luxury housing comes with advanced amenities - be it interiors, security, gym, swimming pool, play area for children, proper parking space, among others.

Mumbai and Delhi NCR have led luxury home sales with the first half of 2022 seeing approximately 17,830 units sold in these two cities alone. In 2019, they accounted for a mere 11,890 luxury homes sold in the entire year.

In terms of overall sales share, Mumbai's luxury housing sales share increased from 13 per cent in 2019 to 25 per cent in 2022. In Delhi NCR, the sales share rose to 12 per cent in 2022, from 4 per cent in 2019.

On the flip side, demand for the affordable housing segment was significantly impacted because its target audience took the biggest economic hit during the pandemic. Housing units costing below 40 lakhs are considered affordable housing.

City wise, Hyderabad saw the maximum dip in affordable housing sales share -- from 23 per cent in 2019 to 6 per cent in 2022, followed by Chennai -- from 52 per cent in 2019 to 36 per cent in 2022.