Hill homes for Rs 20 crore is the new luxury

Hill homes in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are becoming increasingly expensive, with buyers opting for gated communities over traditional villas for their second residences. The property transactions in these hills are now worth over Rs 20 crore. Experts believe that amenities play a crucial role in the decision-making process for High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) when choosing a holiday home.

Amar Kapoor, founder and CEO of Terra Grande by Eldeco, highlights that while villas can reach prices of Rs 28 crore, a hill home offers a unique proposition compared to luxury apartments in Indian metros, which can cost over Rs 100 crore. The distinction lies not only in the price but also in the scale, privacy, sense of ownership, and rarity of the asset.

Terra Grande plans to add three new projects to its portfolio in the next year, focusing on second-home communities. The shift in the second-home market is from unorganized offerings to branded, professionally developed, and managed residences backed by good infrastructure. Shveta Jain, managing director of Residential Services at Savills India, notes that the emergence of a sophisticated operator ecosystem is driving this demand.

Affluent buyers are now more willing to pay premium prices for high-quality, lifestyle-led, yield-oriented properties that offer professional management, housekeeping, fine dining, and curated experiences. This trend has led to a decrease in resistance to higher ticket sizes, with buyers valuing permanence, provenance, service, and differentiated experiences.

Traditionally, developers like DLF and Tata Realty had launched projects in the hills, but now, no organized developer has done so for many years. Experts suggest that people who can afford Rs 100 crore apartments in metropolitan cities are now interested in investing in similar communities in holiday destinations.