India records 1.71 lakh home sales across eight cities in H1 2026; demand for ₹20-50 crore ultra-luxury properties more than doubles

India's residential real estate market remained resilient in the first half of 2026, with housing sales across the country's top eight cities inching up despite global uncertainties and elevated property prices. A defining feature of H1 2026 was the sharp surge in demand for ultra-luxury homes, with the ₹20-50 crore segment emerging as the fastest-growing category during the period.

According to Knight Frank India's India Real Estate: Residential and Office H1 2026 report, housing sales across the eight major cities stood at 1,71,471 units in H1 2026, up 0.7% from the year-ago period. New launches rose 4.2% year-on-year (YoY) to 1,87,350 units, reflecting developers' confidence amid sustained end-user demand.

"While growth has reduced following a steep recovery from pandemic lows, the market's underlying fundamentals remain firmly intact,” said Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

He added that India's residential sector is steadily consolidating while transitioning to the next phase of its evolution, supported by urbanisation, infrastructure investment and a stable macroeconomic environment.

Demand for ₹20-50 crore properties jumps 105%

While the broader market remained largely stable, homes priced between ₹20 crore and ₹50 crore recorded the strongest growth across all ticket-size categories. Sales in this segment more than doubled, surging 105% year-on-year from 181 units in H1 2025 to 371 units in H1 2026.

Although the category accounts for a relatively small share of the overall market, its sharp growth underscores the continued premiumisation of India's residential sector, with affluent buyers driving demand for high-end homes.

Mumbai remained the country's luxury housing capital, accounting for 214 transactions in the ₹20-50 crore category, or 57% of total sales in the segment. NCR followed with 92 units, while Hyderabad and Bengaluru recorded 31 and 28 transactions, respectively.

Premium housing gains further ground

The report highlights a continued shift towards premium housing, with homes priced above ₹1 crore accounting for 54% of total residential sales in H1 2026, up from 49% a year ago.

The ₹1-2 crore segment remained the largest by volume, recording 50,488 sales during the period. Homes priced between ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore also witnessed healthy growth of 19% year-on-year, reaching their highest half-year sales level since 2018.

In contrast, the affordable housing segment continued to face pressure. Sales of homes priced below ₹50 lakh declined 15% year-on-year to 32,063 units, reflecting limited supply and sustained price appreciation that has pushed many projects into higher price brackets.

"Premium homes now account for more than half of all residential sales, reflecting rising household incomes, evolving buyer aspirations and growing confidence in long-term homeownership,” said Baijal.

Mumbai leads; Pune tops launch growth

As per the report, residential demand remained broad-based across India's top eight cities during H1 2026, with Mumbai retaining its position as the country's largest housing market. The financial capital recorded sales of 47,355 homes, up 1% year-on-year, while new launches rose 8% to 49,161 units, reflecting sustained demand across both premium and mid-income segments.

Bengaluru emerged as the strongest-performing major market, registering the highest sales growth among the top cities. Home sales rose 5% year-on-year to 27,968 units, supported by robust employment generation, the continued expansion of global capability centres (GCCs), and strong demand from the technology sector. The city also witnessed 34,749 new launches, up 4% from a year ago.

Pune continued to demonstrate healthy momentum, with sales increasing 2% to 24,890 units. Developers remained optimistic about the market, launching 31,116 homes during the period, the highest growth in new supply among all cities at 17%. Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata also posted modest gains in residential sales, underscoring the resilience of owner-occupier demand.

In contrast, the National Capital Region (NCR) remained the only major laggard. Housing sales declined 7.2% YoY to 24,862 units, while launches fell 5% to 23,877 units.

According to Knight Frank, the region has remained more sensitive to shifts in buyer sentiment. Geopolitical uncertainty, coupled with the dwindling supply of homes priced below ₹1 crore in key micro-markets such as Gurugram, Noida and Delhi, has pushed inventory towards the ₹2 crore-and-above segment, limiting affordability for a large section of end-users and weighing on overall demand.

The report noted that the market is transitioning into a more balanced phase after several years of rapid post-pandemic expansion, with demand increasingly being driven by genuine end-users rather than speculative buying.