News
Ultra-luxury real estate: Selling homes that last generations
At the northern end of Worli, the outline of a vast new project is taking place. Christened 360 West, this mixed-use development in central Mumbai comprises a Ritz-Carlton hotel as well as residences managed by them. Apartments which start at ₹40 crore come with access to a pool, tennis courts, a gymnasium and spa, bowling alley and world-class restaurants.
India’s luxury market has seen a revival over the last 18 months and Oberoi Realty’s 360 West is a good indicator. Since April 2023, apartments have been sold at a sales value of ₹1,300 crore, according to CRE Matrix, a real estate consultancy. Buyers comprise businessmen DMart’s Radhakishan Damani and Max Healthcare’s Abhay Soi, Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan and Shahid Kapoor as well as professionals such as 360 One’s Karan Bhagat and Sumir Chadha of Westbridge Capital.
Marketing for these projects is usually low key. No banner ads on websites or full-page jacket ads in newspapers. Those pesky telemarketing calls are a strict no-no as well. You also won’t find brochures with wealth managers managing money for ultra HNIs. Instead, it is the quiet word of mouth that works. Weekend gatherings with friends and family are where these projects are discussed, and introductions made. It is said Vikas Oberoi, who runs Oberoi Realty, personally meets and vets each new buyer. After all he wants these apartments to be sought after for many generations and is doing everything to make sure they maintain their exclusive tag. He’s been selling the project for over a decade now with no price cuts. It is also a case study on how selling the concept of a luxury development is different from selling other homes.
Demand Rising
India’s luxury market, which was comatose between 2013 and 2020, witnessed a boost from an unexpected quarter—the Covid-19 pandemic. It was during that time that buyers put a premium on larger homes with amenities that were located in the project itself.
At the same time, Indian entrepreneurs have seen unprecedented wealth creation. “When the stock markets do well, luxury real estate tends to do well,” says Ramesh Ranganathan, chief executive officer of K Raheja Corp. According to Knight Frank India, 12 percent of ultra HNIs plan to purchase a home in 2024.
Ranganathan estimates that the ultra-luxury market makes up 5 percent of total real estate sales by value. The market is in the third year of an epicycle that started in 2021, also aided by the stamp duty cuts announced by several states.
DLF, India’s most valuable developer, which saw total sales of ₹14,778 crore in FY24, sold ₹1,500 crore of super luxury apartments. The profile of buyers at DLF Camellias in Gurugram include Makemytrip founder Deep Kalra, Aman Gupta of boAt and JC Chaudhry of Akash Education. This year, DLF plans to launch DLF5, a new ultra-luxury project with 420 apartments at a list price starting at ₹50 crore. Aakash Ohri, joint managing director, DLF Homes, says the project will first be marketed on a ‘by invitation’ basis and then be opened to the public by the end of FY25.
Developers who have worked on luxury developments realise that selling these homes is a slow process. Overt marketing and price cuts can dent a brand, making it impossible for sales to recover. Ohri of DLF emphasised that these homes are not sold quickly and are often sold “over time, with word of mouth playing a crucial role”. Getting the right people to buy (and live) is key.
Also read: Over Rs 12,000 crore worth of luxury houses sold in Mumbai in six months: Report
Maintenance: A Long-Term Game
Also, the developers’ work often begins once the homes are sold. “They realise that maintenance is key if the building is to retain its value over generations. That is what really makes or breaks the long-term reputation of a developer,” says Vishal Bhargava, a real estate columnist. Mumbai and Bengaluru are dotted with buildings that started off in a promising manner, but lost their way. A prime example of this would be Omkar 1973 in Worli that is now a pale shadow of what it was intended to be.
To avoid this K Raheja makes sure that a cohesive community of buyers comes together to take over the project. Buildings that are maintained well tend to hold their value over the years.
For instance, buildings like Samudra Mahal, Il Palazzo and Sterling Apartments in Mumbai charge members upwards of ₹10 per square feet in maintenance. Amounts can run into ₹30,000 to ₹50,000 per unit per month. But with members like Nandan Nilekani, Narayana Murthy of Infosys, Raamdeo Agrawal of Motilal Oswal and Anil Agarwal of Vedanta, owners are usually willing to pay.
Defects are promptly rectified, and homes maintain a uniform external facade. Gardens are well-maintained and building conversations revolve around first-world problems like “whether the pool temperature should be maintained at 26 or 28 degrees”, according to a resident of one of the buildings mentioned in this article. Ideally a well-maintained building should not show its age is what the resident said.
Pricing Cycle
Over the last decade, pricing for luxury real estate has gone through a trough before starting to rise in 2021. While it is anybody’s guess as to how long this cycle will last, a few key trends emerge.
First, supply in ultra-luxury buildings is very limited. According to Bhargava, brokers hate these buildings as homes are often bought by someone already living or renting in that building. It is hard to remember the last time something was available at Il Palazzo—home to Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Kumaramangalam Birla and Sajjan Jindal. (They have all moved out but retain their apartments.) A few corporate-owned apartments come on the market at Sterling Apartments from time to time. At The Camellias (Gurugram) and Kingfisher Towers (Bengaluru) also, resale deals are rare.
Second, these apartments command a hefty premium to buildings in that area. At DLF Camellias, a 10,813 sq feet apartment was sold for ₹95 crore in February to Smiti Agarwal, the wife of the promoter of Vmart, according to data from CRE Matrix. This would make per square feet prices of almost ₹100,000 per square foot comparable with Mumbai. Prices at DLF Aralias and Magnolias in Gurugram have also doubled since 2021.
In Mumbai, Lodha Malabar has seen deals at ₹140,000 per sq feet. Nirav Bajaj paid ₹252 crore for an 18,000 sq feet triplex. Raheja Artesia and 360 West quote similar prices, but have lesser inventory. In 2018, Harsh Goenka paid ₹45 crore or ₹129,000 per sq ft for a flat in Il Palazzo on Malabar Hill.
One point to note is that several luxury projects hand over apartments in a bare shell condition. This means that buyers must shell out upwards of 5 to 10 percent of the cost of the house to get the interior work done.
Developers of luxury homes are now in a strong position as a substantial portion of their inventory is sold and new inventory is still some time away. This is also an extremely hard market for unknown brands to break into as buyers want to work with a well-known developer. Ranganathan of K Raheja says they are in the process of signing up their next lot of ultra-luxury developments. He expects the market to stay strong for another three to four years. Also expect new launches from DLF in Gurugram, Prestige in Bengaluru and Oberoi and K Raheja in Mumbai, adding to another 2 million square feet of supply.
Source: Forbes India