India’s housing market sees structural shift towards premium, luxury homes: CareEdge Ratings
India’s housing market is seeing a structural shift towards premium and luxury homes, with affordable housing losing share in new launches. CareEdge Ratings said stronger demand from affluent buyers and rising development costs are driving the shift, even as housing sales moderate in some major cities amid affordability pressures and cautious sentiment.
India's residential real estate market is experiencing a notable shift towards luxury and premium housing, as per CareEdge Ratings. While overall housing sales across top Indian cities moderated in the first quarter of 2026 due to affordability pressures and cautious buyer sentiment, premium and luxury homes continued to thrive.
This shift is driven by affluent buyers who are less sensitive to inflation and property price increases. The share of affordable homes in new launches has declined from 85% in Q1 2022 to 47% in Q1 2026, while the premium segment's share rose from 14% to 44% in the same periods. The luxury segment expanded from 1% to 9% of new launches.
The trend is attributed to developers focusing on mid-premium and luxury housing due to rising costs and changing customer preferences. Despite macroeconomic uncertainties, residential developers have stronger balance sheets, providing a cushion against potential disruptions. However, small and medium-sized developers may face more pressure due to their weaker financial position.
Housing sales vary significantly across cities, with southern markets like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad registering growth, while Pune, Delhi-NCR, and Mumbai showed declines.
Written by urgent.news from The Economic Times - Top News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
