Indian real estate giant DLF has handed over a $1 billion luxury housing project within 72 hours, while its competitor, Godrej Properties, is consulting on $3,000 million apartments for potential customers. This shows that the high-end housing sector in India is on the path to recovery, according to Reuters.
Real estate developers say that cramped old townhouses and apartment buildings in India have long failed to meet the needs of the people. Therefore, apartments with spacious areas and high prices, accompanied by other amenities such as spas, multi-storey parking lots, expanded green space and hot springs... are becoming a "crazy" fever in the country's market.
Executive directors of the housing sector shared that many people want to renovate their homes after a long time of being "detained" in their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Working at home for a long time also makes people want to consider moving to larger apartment complexes, which is reasonable because their income is increasing and the number of emerging rich people in India is also the same.
DLF Group's Arbour luxury housing project in Gurugram, near New Delhi, has attracted more than 3,000 registrations for 1,137 apartments, priced at $869,000/apartment, a "sky-high" price in the capital area.
I have never seen such a crazy housing fever in the past 10 years, said Prashant Thakur, research director at real estate consulting firm Anarock. The high-end housing market is miraculously reviving.
Varun Arora, a 37-year-old investment expert, said he is planning to upgrade the apartment complex he is currently renting to the likes of DLF, which he said has a grand reception area, a high-capacity elevator and enough space to run without having to leave the building.
Having a green, open, clean space and limiting the entry and exit of outsiders is extremely important, said Mr. Arora.
The supply of high-end housing in India has been limited in recent years, mainly due to the impact of the economic recession in 2019 and then the pandemic in 2020, forcing developers to temporarily suspend the implementation of new projects.
Data from Anarock shows that luxury apartment complexes (apartments with selling prices above 183,000 USD) account for 17% of the total number of houses put into operation in 2022, the highest in the past 5 years. The implementation of low-cost housing (houses priced under 50,000 USD) has been reduced by half to 20% during this period.
There are a total of 65,700 luxury apartments for sale in 2022, three times higher than the previous year, with the leading revenue coming from Mumbai, New Delhi and Hyderabad. In 2019, before the pandemic broke out, only 18,150 apartments were sold on the market.
In Mumbai, real estate developer Sugee has posted an advertisement for apartments facing the sea with a starting price of 1.7 million USD, part of a development project including a lectureship area, natural gardens and a high-altitude observation post.
Godrej's "Connaught One" project near the top shopping mall in central New Delhi is opening for sale apartments priced from 2 - 3.3 million USD, equivalent to a luxury wooden house in the city area.
Amit Goyal, CEO of the Indian real estate company Sotheby's International Realty, said: "We have recorded many wishes from customers that need more space, a better lifestyle... We have received more calls and due to the small quantity, high-end real estate projects have also been bought back quite quickly".
Sotheby's said that 61% of surveyed high-income indians plan to buy high-end real estate in 2023, 67% lower than last year.
India has a population of 1.4 billion people, with an average income per capita of about 2,300 USD but has more than 800,000 USD billionaires. Knight Frank Real Estate Group estimates that India will have about 1.4 million billionaires by 2026, 77% higher than in 2021.
Another thing that contributed to the change in India was the spending trend of the upper class, after decades of having to hide their wealth and not accept an ostentatious lifestyle.
Mercedes said it has sold a record number of cars in India in 2022 and luxury brands are also gradually taking the throne. Knight Frank Group's data in 2022 shows that 53% of the super-rich are willing to spend money to buy luxury watches and handbags, higher than the average in 2020 of 41% and 9%, respectively.
