[ad_1]
Demand for ultra-luxury homes continues to rise with most high net worth individuals purchasing these properties for investment, personal use, or both. This rise can also be on account of the reshuffling of HNI investment portfolios amid the anticipated volatility in the stock market due to the existing geopolitical tensions.
There is also a distinct FOMO (fear of missing out) aspect to securing the most desirable options before someone else does among the ultra rich.
It should be noted that the majority of luxury apartments bought in Mumbai or in Delhi are sold as bare-shell units.
The ultra-rich are discerning customers while purchasing a property that may cost upwards of ₹100 crore. Instances abound of high-end property deals not going through on account of the ‘not so understated’ design of the reception area, slow lifts, imperfect vaastu, high rate of GST or for that matter location of the parking lot (that in this case can cost anything upwards of ₹40 lakh per car park).
Also read: Hyderabad sees highest 19% rise in housing price in Sep quarter
Flurry of high-end deals across the country
Promoters of spices brand Everest Food Products purchased two more luxury apartments in Three Sixty West by Oberoi Realty in Mumbai for more than ₹143 crore.
Asha Mukul Agrawal, a director at Param Capital, had bought three apartments in Lodha Malabar, Mumbai, for ₹263 crore in September. The units were spread across an area of more than 9,000 sq ft and came with multiple car parking slots.
Promoters of plastics manufacturing firm Creative Group had also bought eight luxury apartments in Mumbai worth ₹154.6 crore from real estate developer K Raheja Corp Homes. That’s not all—a few months back, a 11,000 square foot apartment at The Camellias by DLF in Gurgaon was sold for more than ₹100 crore in a resale transaction.
Multi-billionaires that comprise industrialists, Bollywood stars, start-up founders continue to purchase spacious sea-facing apartments in the more than ₹1.4 lakh per square foot plus range even as supply for such luxury units continue to be limited. It is the paucity of housing supply in this category that dictates the high price.
Also read: Everest Food Products promoters buy luxury apartments of over ₹143 crore in Mumbai
A recent report by Anarock shows 58 ultra-luxury homes priced above ₹40 crore were sold across seven major cities till November 2023, accumulating a total sales value of ₹4,063 crore. Mumbai led the way with 53 of these opulent properties.
While Mumbai had at least three deals of above ₹200 crore—penthouses purchased by industrialists JP Taparia, Niraj Bajaj and Param Capital director Asha Mukul Agarwal, seven were in the ₹100- ₹200 crore price bracket. In Delhi-NCR, two ultra-luxury homes were sold for more than ₹100 crore each, the report said.
The majority of ultra-luxury transactions—79%—were concluded by business tycoons, 16% by senior professionals, while politicians and Bollywood celebrities constituted a minor 5%. Clearly super luxury apartments were preferred over bungalows by the high net-worth individuals.
The surge in ultra-luxury property investments can be attributed to the capping of capital gains benefits at ₹10 crore. Ultra-high-net-worth individuals strategically invested in luxury homes before capping of capital gains benefit was implemented on April 1.
What dictates the buying behaviour of the super rich?
The key factors that go into their purchase decision include the height of the unit, whether it receives adequate light and if it has enough ventilation.
These buyers are not interested in fancy model apartments showcased within a sales gallery. That’s the reason why “we build a model apartment inside the actual tower and never within a sales gallery. These are discerning clients and know that in a show house set up outside the building, there may be design and height variations,” Ashish Dhami, EVP Sales and Marketing, K Raheja Corp Homes told Hindustan Times Digital.
Focus on materials, finishes, design and beams
Materials and finishes of both the common and apartment areas exude understated luxury. This is a reflection of the refined tastes of these clients. “We spend significant time during the interior design phase of a project to get the luxury quotient in our projects right and yet manage to keep it understated. In the luxury space, an inadequate understanding of the clients’ perception of luxury could often prove to be a deal breaker, as they may simply not identify with it,” he said.
Also read: India’s construction sector levels up as housing demand spurs economy
An apartment should provide enough flexibility to the HNI client when he gets down to getting his apartment designed. This is important as almost 99 percent of the more than ₹70 crore apartments are sold as bare shell units.
These homes come with negligible columns to work around and minimal beams running through the living spaces. This is to ensure that there is enough room to customise spaces, he said.
Location of parking spaces
According to a few experts, this may have significant weightage but may or may not prove to be a deal breaker.
Parkings can be either surface, automated or stacked/multilevel. Most HNIs prefer surface parkings. “Their availability or for that matter non-availability can prove to be a major deal maker or breaker. Another factor is waiting time. Time taken by the driver to reach the drop off point should be in seconds and not minutes. It has often been seen that a deal may be called off if the developer does not provide the number of parkings that a client may have asked for,” said Ritesh Mehta, Senior Director and Head, West and North, Residential Services & Developer Initiatives, JLL.
The buyer’s luxury sedan should be able to fit in the parking space and there should be comfort in terms of parking and driving out easily. Often the number of car parks being provided can become a deal breaker, said sales experts.
Usually, the cost of five to six car parkings is factored into the cost of a ₹100 crore apartment. However, parking in a resale apartment in Mumbai can cost anything upwards of ₹25 to 30 lakh.
High-speed lifts
Most buyers of ultra luxury homes prefer to experience the time taken by lifts to reach the apartment. Usually a dedicated, high-speed lift should take between 35 to 40 seconds to reach the 45th floor. This factor also plays an important role while making a decision to buy an uber luxury apartment, said Dhami.
It’s all about transparent title chain, GST and vaastu.
Some of the deal breakers could be lack of transparency while concluding a transaction, title chain having issues or the absence of necessary approvals, lack of building plan sanctions from govt authorities.
“These days vaastu compliance has become an issue for many. A property may match all requirements but if it is not vaastu compliant, the transaction may not go through,” said Amit Goyal, India Sotheby’s International Realty’s Managing Director for India and Sri Lanka.
Another major challenge is the 12 percent GST on properties under construction, in addition to the 8 percent stamp duty. A total of 20 percent tax on a property transaction can also prove to be a deterrent in such property purchases, he added.
[ad_2]
Source link
