Luxury housing projects with high-end amenities, swimming pool, club houses, and large units are now passé. Luxury homes in Bangalore have now evolved into uber-luxury homes with exclusive theme-based design features, customised lifestyle amenities, third-party service, and high-end specifications and maintenance.
Changing user preferences and market dynamics have led to increased demand for what we call as ultra-luxury housing, spread across central, off-central, suburban, and peripheral locations around Bangalore.
According to a quarterly report by PropUrban, Bangalore is among the Top 3 cities that have witnessed unprecedented growth in demand for ultra-luxury homes along with metros like Mumbai and Delhi.
Luxury versus ultra-luxury housing
While both luxury and ultra-luxury represent India’s high-end housing segment, they differ majorly on budget and facilities.
Facilities in luxury homes may offer the following:
- Private swimming pool
- High-end gadgets
- Spacious living areas
Uber-luxury homes, on the other hand, come in all types. From condominiums to penthouses to villaments, buyers of these homes are increasingly demanding customised homes with designer fixtures, home automation and private access to extravagant amenities.
While high-end designer apartments are the dominant ultra-luxury home type in the central and off-central areas of Bangalore due to limited availability of land there, villas, penthouses, and row houses are mostly available in the suburban and peripheral locations of Bangalore.
Rise of uber-luxury in Bangalore
Bangalore is an IT-driven market with many High Networth Individuals or HNIs who occupy senior management roles in the IT sector. Based on average income levels and affordability, properties valued at more than Rs 1.75 crores are termed as luxury properties, and anything above this is termed as ultra-luxury.
Since 2010, the number of projects launched in the luxury and ultra-luxury segment in Bangalore has increased tremendously.
The key locations for luxury and ultra-luxury projects include:
- Central Bangalore
- Bangalore North
- Whitefield
- Sarjapur Road
Nearly 88% of the luxury housing projects launched in 2016 are in the price range of Rs 1.75 Crores – 5.0 Crores and the remaining 12% are priced at a value of more than Rs 5 Crores, with some projects as high as Rs 25 Crores.
Uber luxury housing units are usually quite spacious. With their area ranging from 4,500 sq ft to 7,000 sq ft, most of these units are priced at Rs 10,000 per sq.ft.
High year-on-year growth
The year-on-year growth of uber-luxury homes in Bangalore is at an all-time high too! The premium housing segment recorded an increase of about 5% in Q1 2017 compared to Q1 2016. On the other hand, the demand for luxury housing witnessed a dip of nearly 12%.
According to a recent JLL report, the estimated total value of uber luxury housing projects in various stages of construction in Bangalore are valued at Rs 6,000 Crores.
The bigger chunk of projects worth Rs 5 Crores and more belongs to the National Capital Region (NCR) while Mumbai has around 20% of such units.
Bangalore follows closely with around 15-20% of the market share. With major areas within the city already occupied, investors are now looking at the suburbs where luxury housing projects are being sold for more than Rs 5 Crores.
The rate of absorption of uber-luxury homes in Bangalore is further set to increase because the premium housing segment is still economical in Bangalore compared to that in Delhi and Mumbai.
Stable growth post demonetization too!
The estate market of Bangalore is among the least affected post demonetization. While the NCR registered a decline of 42% in the purchase of residential property from January-August this year, Bangalore showed a decline of a mere 3%.
The main reason behind the stability in Bangalore’s luxury real estate market is that it is driven by the end user. Unlike in NCR and Mumbai, where the luxury homes market is driven by investors and resultant speculation, people in Bangalore buy luxury properties as their first homes for residential purpose.
Change in mindset
Thanks to IT exposure, there is a greater stability of a job and higher financial growth for people in Bangalore. Ultra-luxury homes have helped in filling the vacuum created as bungalows went out of the market. Also, there is a change in the mindset of people who are now more accepting of a non-CBD, non-bungalow property for luxury housing. With more are more people opting for the city outskirts with more open areas for ultra-luxury housing, its future is surely bright in Bangalore.
