Prices of luxury properties appreciated by 8-12 per cent during the last year across major cities and has breached the 2015 peak level, according to India Sotheby’s International Realty.

In its annual ‘Luxury Outlook Survey 2023’, India Sotheby’s International Realty (ISIR) revealed that 61 per cent of High-Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) and Ultra High-Net-worth Individuals (UHNIs) are looking to buy luxury real estate during 2023-24.

The sample size of the survey is more than 500 HNIs and UHNIs.

Asked about the price range of the property respondents were considering, the ISIR said that the highest interest (65 per cent) came in the price bracket of ₹4-10 crore for their property investment.

The survey found that 33 per cent of HNIs and UHNIs are willing to spend upwards of ₹10 crore to acquire the right luxury property.

On rates of luxury properties, the ISIR said, “Even though luxury property prices have gained 8-12 per cent in 2022, they are only marginally higher than 2015 peak.”

ISIR CEO Amit Goyal said the housing sales remain strong amid pent-up demand and the country’s economic growth.

“As the wealth of a nation grows, it is bound to bring in a new set of buyers into luxury real estate and that’s what we are witnessing,” Goyal said.

“We all are witness to a fundamental shift in the desire for home ownership across age groups, post the pandemic. A young thriving workforce in India will continue to drive demand for the housing sector,” he added.

Ashwin Chadha, President, ISIR, noted that Indian real estate has started its multi-year bull run in 2021, after years of remaining subdued.

“Prices of luxury homes have risen in the last 16 months, but they are still only marginally higher than the peak prices of 2015, making it possible for HNIs to strike well-priced deals even now,” Chadha added.

On key demand drivers, the ISIR said that lifestyle upgrade remains the key motivation for buying property in 2023- 24.

“Capital appreciation is the second most important motivation factor for buying property. This indicates that HNIs and UHNIs are expecting prices to rise in the coming years,” the report said, adding that 12 per cent of the wealthy also ticked real estate as a chosen asset class to create multi-generational wealth to pass on to the next of kin.

Among other findings, the ISIR report said that Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru remain the top four cities for respondents to buy real estate.

“Eleven per cent of the India’s wealthy are searching for real estate in overseas destination. This number was negligible when we conducted our survey at the end of 2021,” it added.

ISIR survey revealed that 57 per cent of those surveyed still consider city and urban community for their luxury real estate purchase in the coming years. Another 33 per cent people gravitated towards owning a farmhouse/holiday destination.

High-rise apartments remain the most sought-after real estate investment for respondents followed by farmhouse/holiday homes. Rent yielding commercial real estate is also in demand as 23 per cent of the respondents would like to invest in it.

Larger homes and open green spaces combined with excellent physical and social infrastructure came as the top two reasons for wealthy Indians while choosing a property to buy, the survey report said.

“We were happy to see 11 per cent also picked sustainable features as one of the key reasons driving their purchase,” it added.

The report further said that 74 per cent of the surveyed HNIs and UHNIs believe real estate is an important asset to hedge against inflation.