LUXURY RESIDENTIAL SEGMENT TOOK CENTRE STAGE IN 2025

How would you describe 2025 for Indian real estate?

While 2025 began amid talk of a slowdown and cautious sentiment, the luxury residential segment clearly defied that narrative. Buyers have shown strong confidence in projects with robust fundamentals, thoughtful design and trusted developers. This was evident in the response to DLF Privana North in Gurugram and The Westpark, our maiden Mumbai project, both of which sold out within days, generating over ₹13,000 crore in sales. The trend is equally strong in the super-luxury segment, with The Dahlias, priced upwards of ₹70 crore, witnessing some of the strongest demand we have seen. Importantly, demand is no longer localised, over 35% of buyers in our recent launches have come from NRIs and non-local markets.

What was the biggest inflection point for the sector in 2025?

The inflection has been market-specific and structural. Mumbai has been defined by large-scale redevelopment and accelerated infrastructure activity, which lead to the emergence of new residential micro-markets. Gurugram, has seen a surge in luxury and super luxury developments by both NCR and pan-India developers, resulting in some of the highest-value transactions and repositioning the city. Alongside this, buyer behaviour has shifted decisively from speculative buying to value-led decision-making, widening the gap between credible, well-capitalised developers and the rest of the market.

The key shifts in homebuyer preferences in 2025?

Younger buyers are entering the market earlier, often in their 20s and 30s, and are far more discerning, even as first-time buyers. They prioritise quality, lifestyle alignment and investment value, and many are upgrading to luxury products sooner in life. The preference has clearly shifted toward well-planned, integrated developments offering open spaces, amenities, retail and social infrastructure, expectations that were once limited to older buyers but are now equally evident among first- and second-time buyers. Which real estate segment stood out in 2025? For us, all residential segments performed well, from premium plus to luxury and super-luxury. However, the appetite for luxury has distinctly grown. Luxury today extends well beyond construction to include service quality, long term maintenance, hospitality-led management and mature safety systems. Buyers are increasingly willing to pay a premium for developments that deliver this end to-end living experience.

One strategic advice for 2026

There are no shortcuts; especially in today’s market with abundant choice, any developer who takes customers for a ride or plays with their investment will lose trust permanently, because today’s buyer is informed, mature, and value conscious, which is why developers must invest in planning, revisit the drawing board as many times as needed, and deliver products that protect capital and create long-term value for the customer.