In the world of real estate, luxury is an overused word. The next most overused is the phrase 'redefining luxury'. How then can one set Rs 100 crore apart from a Rs 20–50-crore home? The key lies in offering exclusivity and privacy — both which are in extreme short supply in a city that hosts over 20 million people.
In a land-scarce city like Mumbai, the exorbitant price tags come mostly with the location. Most ultra-premium homes that retail above Rs 50 crore boast of gigantic spaces, large decks and other utility areas spread over 10,000 square feet or more. Add that with the location, homes get pricier.
"In South and Central areas like Walkeshwar, Parel or Worli, the per square-feet price is as high as Rs 1 lakh. The high price tag is mainly a function of location, price of the apartment as well as the stage of the project as people do not want to wait for two–three years for delivery," says Sharad Mittal, founder of Arnya RealEstates Fund Advisors.
In a land-scarce city like Mumbai, the exorbitant price tags come mostly with the location. Most ultra-premium homes that retail above Rs 50 crore boast of gigantic spaces, large decks and other utility areas spread over 10,000 square feet or more. Add that with the location, homes get pricier.
"In South and Central areas like Walkeshwar, Parel or Worli, the per square-feet price is as high as Rs 1 lakh. The high price tag is mainly a function of location, price of the apartment as well as the stage of the project as people do not want to wait for two–three years for delivery," says Sharad Mittal, founder of Arnya RealEstates Fund Advisors.
Luxury Coefficient
But the question remains — What's the amenity one can offer homebuyers who can afford to spend anywhere between Rs 60 and Rs 100 crore? Most builders now offer many amenities across price points. Even Rs 2-crore homes come with swimming pools, gyms, meditation rooms, club houses and banquet halls. They've long since stopped being the yardstick for luxury.
Very high up in the real-estate ladder, a 'luxury coefficient' comes into play, especially in a city where individual bungalows are near to impossible. "When it comes to apartments valued above Rs 50 crore, the defining factors often centre around privacy and exclusivity. Consider a resident owning three floors in a boutique 20-storey building — this setup provides a significantly more exclusive experience compared to owning the same amount of space in a 60-storey tower. The exclusivity ratio becomes evident: fewer apartments per elevator translate to reduced waiting times, fewer stops, and smoother, uninterrupted access," says explains Nishant Agarwal, managing director of Avighna Group.
Agarwal explains that luxury is not just about the size of the home; it's about the overall experience of privacy and personal space. "Think of the difference between waiting an extra four minutes for an elevator or waiting your turn for a treadmill at the gym — one feels exclusive, while the other feels tedious. In the ultra-luxury segment, it is this exclusivity that truly defines the essence of luxury living."
Exclusivity is the 'premium on top of premium' that Mumbai's creme de la creme now demands. Reshmi Panicker, executive director of land services and residential at Knight Frank India calls these luxury homes, 'trophy assets'. "The Rs 50-plus-crore segment represents the pinnacle of what the Indian residential market has to offer and is a recent phenomenon with a very exclusive clique of homebuyers," she adds.
While ClubHouses and in-home theatres have become commonplace, who and how many people are a part of the clubs. It's a matter of great importance to the elite of a city, which has more billionaires than Beijing. As per Hurun Global Rich List, Mumbai is the new billionaire capital of Asia with 92 of such elite wealth owners — along with an unaccounted number of multi-millionaires.
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DLF's Camellias in Gurgaon, which also comes with a Rs 100-crore price tag, boasts of a five-star luxury resort-like amenities right from sunken gardens, Turkish hammams, to flotation pools that offers a sensory deprivation experience. Mumbai's homebuyers, however, are a lot more sensible about what they define as affluence.
Real-estate experts insist that amenities like golf simulators and other similar frills are used as much, in the long term. Mittal says there is high demand for penthouses, duplexes, but most buyers of such real estate prefer raw spaces. "They prefer to do the house as they seek," he adds. It leaves little for builders to provide 'add-ons'.
This pedigree of homebuyers have varied ideas of seclusion. "A few such homes boast of a full-scale 1BHK for servants or in-house help within the home. They also have a separate entrance for them so that the owners can retain their own privacy," says a high-end real estate broker in Mumbai.
Spectacular views of the city skyline, extra or private car parks, occupying an entire floor isn't the only amenity they demand. They also prefer not to have too many neighbours — like four– five homes per floor etc.
In Mumbai, redevelopments are common, especially in south Mumbai. Mix-use homes where the previous owners of an older building co-exist with the new buyers — have become a headache for 'new owners' with abysmally deep-pocketed home buyers.
"Discerning buyers are increasingly cautious about mixed-use projects, particularly those that include a rehabilitation component — a feature prevalent in most of Mumbai's redevelopment projects due to limited plot sizes. Such arrangements fundamentally compromise the essence of luxury, particularly in this ultra luxury segment. Significant disparities in apartment sizes, financial capacities and lifestyle preferences often result in discord and long-term challenges, ultimately diluting the concept of true luxury. A luxury home should deliver a seamless, hassle-free experience, thoughtfully crafted to meet the aspirations of a like-minded community that values privacy, harmony and exclusivity," explains Agarwal.
Growing Wealth Effect
The extreme high need for peace and quiet as well as apprehensions over society problems in the future could have impacted the sales of such homes in 2024, believes Agarwal. In 2024, 150 of over Rs 50-crore homes were sold as compared to 261 the year before, with Mumbai accounting for 67% of the total sales.
The available inventory of such homes have gone up too, even as the Rs 20–50 crore bracket has been performing extremely well — expanding by a massive 85%. The launches of such projects have gone up exponentially too since 2021. The market has been languishing before the pandemic, such homes being sold only in single digits since 2018.
"The inventory has increased in this segment, with more and more developers targeting high-end, super-luxury projects, leading to a perceived fall in sales. However, this segment is market agnostic and expected to remain strong. The next two years will witness possession of many of these projects, which will create an impetus in sales as well," assures Panicker.
Mittal too believes that the wealth effect created in the country will keep up the demand for ultra premium homes, going ahead. The bull run seen in stock markets, and the initial public offers have created a large pool of liquidity-rich real-estate buyers among investors as well as promoters alike.
"Ultra HNIs, who have outgrown their current residences and are looking at state of the art, bespoke offerings to house their expanded families, promoters of successful companies, NRIs, investors who have made profits in sale of shares/financial instruments and wish to take advantage of tax sops offered, large family offices, successful entrepreneurs, all these constitute the segment of buyers who go for such homes," says Panicker.
As per a recent report by Anarock, the tribe of ultra high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals are expected to grow at a faster clip in India, than across the globe. As of 2024, there are as many as 13,600 UHNIs, marking a 6% annual growth. This population is projected to soar by 50% by 2028, far outpacing the global growth average of 30%.
There are as many as 8.5 lakh HNIs in India and the number is projected to double to 16.5 lakh by 2027. Interestingly, 20% of them are under 40. And, these young wealth creators might intend to reside in exclusive homes. And cities like Mumbai just have to make space for them.
Katya Naidu is a senior business journalist who writes about equity markets, startups, energy, infrastructure, real estate and healthcare.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of NDTV Profit or its editorial team.
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