India's housing market goes premium as ₹1 cr-plus homes drive nearly half of residential sales in H1 2025

In a clear indicator of Indian homebuyers consistently shifting their priorities towards premium housing, 49% of all homes sold in H1 2025 were those costing ₹1 crore and above. This segment saw sales of 83,433 units across key markets, with Bengaluru leading the chart, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, according to Knight Frank India's flagship report, India Real Estate: Office and Residential Market – January to June 2025 (H1 2025). The higher end of the market continued its strong run, with homes priced above ₹1 crore witnessing a robust 17% year-on-year (YoY) growth in sales.

The ₹1-5 crore price category alone contributed around 44% of the total sales in the first half of 2025, at 75,042 units. Mumbai saw the highest sales in the first half of the calendar year and led in five of seven price categories. Delhi-NCR topped the sales chart in the ₹1-5 crore and less than ₹50 crore categories. In the sub-₹50 crore category, only Mumbai and Delhi-NCR saw sales at 34 and 159 units, respectively.

Stakeholders, specifically in Delhi-NCR, view the region as the new epicenter of ultra-luxury housing. Yash Garg, Director, M3M Noida, tells Fortune India that the region comprises over 21,800 units priced above ₹1 crore, making up 81% of the region’s total sales. "This upward shift reflects a growing appetite for premium living, driven by robust infrastructure and superior connectivity. As demand accelerates, the region is well on its way to becoming the foremost destination for ultra-luxury residences. The focus now must be on delivering landmark developments that truly embody the next chapter of high-end urban living," says Garg.

Parvinder Singh, CEO, Trident Realty, agrees, saying that NCR's emergence as the new epicenter of ultra-luxury housing marks a powerful shift in India’s real estate narrative. "We see this as a clear indication to real end-user demand and increasing buyer confidence."

Overall, India’s top eight cities recorded the sale of 170,201 housing units, reflecting the market’s sustained momentum over the same period last year. This resilience in the above ₹1 crore segment helped anchor the market even as sales in the sub-₹1 crore segment decelerated.

New launches at 179,740 units continued to exceed sales during the period, demonstrating developers’ continued confidence in long-term demand fundamentals. The steady activity across launches and high-value sales signals the sector’s growing maturity and the increasing appetite for quality housing.

Mumbai remained the largest residential market by volume, with sales remaining stable in YoY terms, while NCR (-8%) and Bengaluru (-3%) recorded marginal corrections in sales volumes in H1 2025. Chennai was the only notable exception, recording a rise of 12% YoY in H1 2025.

While 49% of all home sales were for homes costing ₹1 crore and above (83,433 units across the key markets), 51% were for homes up to ₹1 crore, with sales amounting to 86,768 units in H1 2025.

In the housing segment costing less than ₹1 crore, Mumbai was the highest contributor with sales of 30,333 units, followed by Ahmedabad, which recorded sales of 18,083 homes in this price category. However, NCR takes the lead in sales of homes costing above ₹1 crore, recording sales of 21,828 units (81% of all sales in the city) in the first half of the year. Bengaluru recorded sales of 18,629 units (70% of the total sales) in this segment. Mumbai, even though considered to be India’s most expensive residential market based on weighted average prices, saw sales of 16,702 units costing over ₹1 crore, making up a modest 36% of its sales.

"The residential market in H1 2025 reflected a nuanced shift where premium and luxury segments continued to thrive, even as lower-value segments showed signs of continued moderation. Homes priced above INR 10 million now constitute nearly half of all sales—an indicator of changing buyer priorities and rising aspirations. Besides, the RBI’s cumulative 100 bps policy rate cut and improved liquidity will further help in supporting housing demand, especially at the lower and mid-value categories. We expect these congenial factors, along with a positive economic environment, will provide longer legs to this market," says Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

Key Trends in India's Residential Market in H1 2025

Unsold Inventory Up: Unsold inventory increased by 4% to 505,377 units in H1 2025. However, the marginal rise in this inventory may not be seen as a challenge as the overall Quarters-to-Sell (QTS) ratio held steady at 5.8 quarters, depicting a still healthy market. Notably, the QTS in the ₹2-5 crore segment remained better than the market average at 3.9 quarters, while ultra-luxury units in the ₹20-50 crore segment recorded a QTS of 17.1 quarters, indicating a slower absorption rate.

Dearth of Viable Supply in Affordable Segment: Homes costing less than ₹50 lakh have seen a steady decline in sales. On a pan-India basis, in H1 2025, sales of homes costing up to ₹50 lakh were recorded at 37,796 units, lower by 18% YoY and by 43% since H1 2018. In Bengaluru, this category recorded sales of only 1,583 units, indicating a drop of 18% YoY for H1 2025, but when compared to H1 2018, the decline is a significant 85%. Mumbai (albeit on a much larger scale than most other markets) recorded the least amount of decline in this category at -11% YoY in H1 2025 and has seen an increase of 10% in volume of sales when compared to H1 2018.

The primary challenge for this category has been the declining supply of new homes. H1 2025 saw a total supply of 30,806 units, registering a YoY decline of 31%. This is lower than sales by a significant 23% and corroborates the rationale that the dearth of viable supply is a major challenge here.

New Launches Dip: The total new launches were recorded at 179,740 units in H1 2025 across major markets, which was a decline of 2% YoY. Mumbai saw the largest volume of launches at 45,451 units, followed by Bengaluru at 33,498 units, and Pune added 26,559 units in H1 2025. Bengaluru saw a rise of 33% YoY in supply over last year, which was led by the launches in the ₹1-2 crore category, which contributed 16,255 units, while 8,019 units were added in the price band of ₹2-5 crore. Kolkata market saw the sharpest decline in new launches by 29% YoY, with a mere 7,682 new units launched in H1 2025. The most significant drop was registered in the sub-₹50 lakh category, which recorded a decline of 67% YoY in new launches.

Weighted Average Prices Up: The weighted average prices across the markets saw a rise in H1 2025, both in YoY terms as well as sequentially over the preceding 6-month period. Mumbai saw a rise of 8% with the weighted average going up to ₹8,532 per square foot (sq ft). While NCR (₹5,535/sq ft) and Bengaluru (₹7,052/sq ft) both registered a rise of 14% YoY. The Hyderabad market saw a rise of 11% in weighted average prices for the city, which was recorded at ₹6,326/sq ft. The Knight Frank report suggests that these notable rises across the markets have been the result of larger inventory launches in higher-value homes in recent times, which has moved the averages northwards.