Ultra-luxury housing sees dedicated real estate investment fund

Blackstone-backed ASK Asset & Wealth Management along with India Sotheby’s International Realty have come together to launch a dedicated fund that will focus on ultra-luxury residential real estate. An industry first in its investment focus and with a ₹1,000 crore equity, ASK Curated Luxury Assets Fund will be looking at deploying funds in Tier 1 and holiday destination luxury home markets.

Speaking to Fortune India, Amit Bhagat, Co-founder, CEO & Managing Director at ASK Property Fund said that they were looking to close the initial fund in the next 2-3 months, with a target of investing about ₹400-500 cr in two or three deals in 2025 as well as 2026. The current focus of investment will not just be in the metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru but also in coastal towns and hill stations across India. “ASK and Sotheby are co-sponsors to the fund. We have a sponsor contribution where both Sotheby’s and ASK are committed to 5 per cent of the fund size equally. In addition to that, key members also contribute an additional amount,” he added.

With returns on equity as the focus over the next 5-6 years, the fund is focusing on ultra HNIs, HNIs, family offices and other such investors to raise capital by tapping into Sotheby’s clientele. “The luxury real estate journey began in India after Covid, and also the preference of the ultra HNIs and HNIs buyers now have shifted towards serviced residences from the earlier villas and farmland purchases," Bhagat said.

To put the market opportunity into perspective, according to recent data by ANAROCK, in 2024 across the top 7 metro cities, the value of  59 ultra-luxury homes sold (worth over ₹40 crore) was around ₹4,754 crore compared to ₹4,063 crore for 58 homes in 2023. Further, out of the 59 ultra-luxury homes sold in 2024, 52 deals were in Mumbai City with at least 16 of them with price tags over ₹100 crore each, including 14 apartments (Worli, Malabar Hill, and Pali Hill) and two bungalows at Cuffe Parade and JVPD. “HNIs and ultra-HNIs are purchasing these trophy residences for personal use, investment, or both,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman – of ANAROCK Group, adding that “some of the most prominent Grade A developers have been upping ultra-luxury inventory in response to the growing demand.

The new fund, meanwhile, would be focused on investment in curated luxury units, targeting each unit priced upwards of ₹8-10 crore plus and will develop projects on residential zoned lands bought through reputed developers. Bhagat says, “There is already a healthy pipeline of projects, we just need to quickly raise money and deploy”.