Delhi NCR has officially overtaken Mumbai in the ultra luxury housing segment during the first half of 2025, signaling a shift in India’s high-end real estate landscape. According to the latest Knight Frank India report titled India Real Estate: Office and Residential Market – January to June 2025, the National Capital Region not only recorded the highest number of sales in homes priced above ₹10 crore but also dominated the ₹50 crore-plus segment, traditionally held by Mumbai.
While overall housing sales across the top eight Indian cities declined slightly—by around 2 percent year-on-year—NCR made headlines with a commanding lead in luxury transactions. Of the total 1.7 lakh homes sold between January and June 2025, Mumbai accounted for the highest volume at 47,035 units, followed by NCR at 26,795 units and Bengaluru closely trailing at 26,599 units. Yet, it was in the premium bracket that Delhi NCR outshone all, selling over 1,055 homes in the ₹10–₹20 crore range, 4,158 homes in the ₹5–₹10 crore range, and 159 homes above ₹50 crore—well ahead of Mumbai’s 34 in that elite segment.
The overall dip in sales came despite strong growth in the ₹1 crore and above price category, which recorded a robust 17 percent year-on-year increase. Nearly 49 percent of all home sales in the top cities were in this segment, representing a total of 83,433 units. This trend toward premiumisation indicates a shift in buyer preferences toward larger and better-located homes, particularly in the post-pandemic urban ecosystem.
Interestingly, Mumbai, often dubbed India’s most expensive real estate market, led the total number of transactions but lagged behind NCR in terms of high-value deals. For instance, Mumbai saw 15,270 sales in the ₹1–₹5 crore segment, compared to 16,416 in NCR and a whopping 18,299 in Bengaluru. While Mumbai still led in the ₹20–₹50 crore segment with 124 homes sold, the broader pattern suggests that NCR’s premium property market is not only expanding but also attracting a wealthier clientele.
The Knight Frank report also revealed that Chennai was the only city among the eight to buck the overall downtrend in sales, posting a 12 percent increase in housing demand during the same period. In contrast, Kolkata saw an 11 percent drop, and NCR itself witnessed an 8 percent dip in total volume year-on-year, despite the ultra luxury boom.
Average property prices across most cities continued to rise, with Mumbai registering an 8 percent increase in weighted average price to ₹8,532 per square foot. NCR and Bengaluru outpaced that growth with 14 percent year-on-year increases, bringing their average prices to ₹5,535 and ₹7,052 per square foot, respectively. Hyderabad saw an 11 percent uptick to ₹6,326 per square foot.
Despite solid demand in the premium category, the affordable housing segment—homes priced below ₹50 lakh—suffered notable declines. Across India, only 37,796 units in this range were sold in H1 2025, marking an 18 percent fall from last year and a staggering 43 percent drop from H1 2018. Bengaluru recorded only 1,583 sales in this segment, an 85 percent drop compared to H1 2018. Mumbai, on the other hand, showed resilience, with 18,604 homes sold in this range, only 11 percent below last year and 10 percent higher than 2018, suggesting that demand for budget homes in Mumbai remains relatively intact.
The supply side also failed to keep up in the affordable segment. Only 30,806 new homes were launched under ₹50 lakh, a 31 percent decline in fresh supply and 23 percent less than the total sales in that price range. This supply-demand mismatch underscores a growing challenge for affordable housing developers, especially in the absence of new government incentives or financing reforms.
Overall, new residential launches outpaced sales across all price categories, with 179,740 units added in the first half of the year. While this may seem encouraging, unsold inventory also rose by 4 percent to 5,05,377 units. However, the Quarters-to-Sell ratio—a key market health metric—remained stable at 5.8 quarters, indicating a balanced market. The ₹2–₹5 crore segment performed the best, with an inventory turnover of just 3.9 quarters. In contrast, ultra luxury homes in the ₹20–₹50 crore bracket had a turnover of 17.1 quarters, highlighting the niche nature of such properties.
Commenting on the shifting dynamics, Gulam Zia, Senior Executive Director at Knight Frank India, noted that while Mumbai has historically been the benchmark for high-end housing, Delhi NCR has now taken a decisive lead across ultra luxury brackets. He emphasized that NCR’s dominance is not a short-term spike but could indicate a structural shift in demand among India’s wealthiest homebuyers.
The data from H1 2025 presents a nuanced picture. While overall residential sales are down slightly, strong growth in the premium and luxury segments points to sustained demand at the top of the market. Delhi NCR’s ascendancy over Mumbai in this category reflects changing buyer behavior, growing investor confidence in northern markets, and a possible rebalancing of India’s real estate power centers.
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Delhi Dethrones Mumbai in Ultra Luxury Housing Sales as 1.7 Lakh Homes Change Hands Across Top 8 Cities in H1 2025
