Ultra luxury hits new high in Gurgaon: ‘DLF sells 173 Dahlias apartments worth Rs 11,800 cr in 9 weeks'

The demand for super luxury homes has been booming in India post Covid and now Gurgaon has set a new record with real estate major DLF selling 173 apartments worth Rs 11,816 crore in nine weeks at its upcoming Dahlias — north India’s most expensive soon-to-be-launched condominiums. For perspective, the developer did this kind of business at Camellias, which is home to top CEOs and HNIs, in nine years, DLF Home Developers Joint MD Aakash Ohri told TOI Monday. With a selling price of Rs 64,000 per sq feet on super area and Rs 105,000 on carpet area basis, a bare shell apartment starting at 10,000 sq feet here will cost upwards of Rs 70 crore and with interiors will touch or cross the Rs 100-crore mark.

“Dahlias will be even more luxurious that Camellias. The project, which will be launched in mid 2025, has about 400 units of which 40% have already been sold. NRIs account for 10% of buyers and the others are entrepreneurs, businessmen, CXOs and high net worth families from Tier II cities. With a revenue generation capability of Rs 35,000 crore, Dahlias is possibly the world’s largest single value residential project,” Ohri said.

With over 9% of apartment cost being taken as booking amount, DLF has already garnered Rs 1,200 crore from the project (Rs 5-10 crore per booking) that will have 10,000-12,000 square feet apartments and 16,000-19,000 sq feet penthouses.

Real estate data analytics firm Propequity founder-CEO Samir Jasuja said while the posh areas of Mumbai are ahead at Rs 1.4 lakh per sq feet in carpet area terms, “but (due to Dahlias response) the number of Rs 75 crore plus apartments sold in Gurgaon in last three months is more than those sold in Mumbai in last five years.”

As of now Camellias is the most expensive condominium complex in the NCR where a 16,290 square feet penthouse sold for Rs 190 crore late last year, translating to a price of Rs 1.18 lakh per sq feet on super area and Rs 1.82 lakh per square feet on carpet area. Camellias was launched at Rs 22,500 per square feet (price for super area) a decade ago. Dahlias is by far the most expensive yet-to-be-launched condominium in north India.

DLF’s Ohri said: “The super luxury real estate market in India is creating its own niche and its own benchmarks. It is often pointed out that real estate in Dubai costs less. India is creating its own Beverly Hills. The response to Dahlias is endorsement of the years of hard work that we have done for creating super luxury segment.”

With Gurgaon an urban nightmare like most other big cities, how does one command that kind of pricing? “Gurgaon is the super luxury destination not just for Delhi NCR but India as a whole. There are buyers from all over the country and the world. Govt is taking care of the required infra.”

The uber luxury market is witnessing a boom in Delhi NCR, which accounted for a remarkable 64% share of luxury residential launches in India's top seven cities in the first half of 2024, according to real estate consultancy firm JLL.

Overall also the demand is booming with 59 ultra luxury homes — 53 apartments and six bungalows — selling for about Rs 4,754 crore in calendar year 2024, with Mumbai accounting for 52 of those deals, Delhi NCR three, and two each in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, according to data from real estate consultancy firm Anarock. While a bungalow going for Rs 500 crore in Mumbai’s Cuff Parade was the costliest home, a condominium selling for Rs 190 crore in Gurgaon’s uber luxury DLF Camellias last Dec was the most expensive apartment deal last.

Anarock data shows the costliest Cuff Parade bungalow deal was followed by one buyer picking up two apartments in Lodha Malabar in Mumbai’s Malabar Hills for Rs 270 crore. Then a person bought two apartments for Rs 225 crore in Oberoi 360 West in Mumbai’s Worli. The DLF Camellias Rs 190-crore deal was the fourth costliest real estate purchase last year, followed by an apartment in Lodha Sea Face in Mumbai’s Worli for Rs 185 crore, according to Anarock data.