Knight Frank India's latest data makes this hard to ignore: homes priced above Rs 1 crore now account for nearly half of all residential sales across top Indian cities. In 2019, this segment was a niche. Today it's almost the mainstream.
On the ground, projects are reflecting this shift fast. In Ghaziabad, Prateek Grand Begonia launched 600 homes averaging Rs 2 crore each and sold out quickly. Developers in Pune, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad are similarly pivoting to 3BHK premium and luxury configurations, cutting 1BHK and 2BHK affordable options from new launches altogether.
Two ways to read this:
The optimistic view: Rising incomes, a growing aspirational class, and post-pandemic preference for larger, better-amenity homes are driving genuine demand. If buyers are willing and able to pay Rs 1 crore plus, the market is delivering what people actually want.
The harder view: Developers are chasing premium margins because affordable housing is no longer profitable at scale. Land costs, input costs, and approval delays make a Rs 40L flat economically unviable to build in most Tier 1 cities. So the Rs 50-75L segment - which served government employees, teachers, mid-level IT workers - has quietly disappeared from new project launches. Existing inventory is drying up. First-time buyers in this bracket now either stretch into debt they cannot comfortably service, or move 40-50 km further out.
RERA 2.0, subsidised housing schemes, and builder incentives are all being discussed - but none of them address the fundamental supply gap in the Rs 40-80L range.
So when we say "premiumisation is a positive signal for Indian real estate" - aspirational for whom exactly?