Super Luxury Homes for Growing Number of Super Rich

Study by Master Sun Consulting, June 2008

India, with a 20.5 per cent increase in the number of HNWIs to 100,015

recorded the second-highest growth rate in HNWIs globally, said the annual

World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini. India trailed only

Singapore, where the increase in HNWIs grew by 21.2 per cent.

The HNWIs are keen to flaunt their wealth & acquire prestige assets.

Realizing the market for super-luxury homes, more and more developers are

coming up with million dollar homes in formats ranging from condominiums

and suburban town houses to golf villas.

These millionaires could be professionals earning in the excess of 1 crore per

annum, industrialists and businessmen. Add to this list NRIs from the US and

the UK and one can conclude that super premium housing in India is on a

high-growth trajectory. Super premium housing is growing at 25-30%, luxury

housing has already grabbed a 10% of the housing market in value terms.

Analysts say the country has seen an unmatched surge in demand.

Along with high disposable incomes there are other trends that are fuelling

the demand for super luxury homes. Members of the joint family who are

breaking away invest money from their ancestral property in new super

luxury developments. Besides the super rich are upgrading from old buildings

(which no amenities to speak of) to new buildings which have a pool, a gym,

liftmen and a concierge, not to mention enough parking for family’s many

cars.

Mumbai’s Richest Live in Presidential Apartments

The Mumbai’s richest live in ‘Presidential Apartments’.

Presidential apartments are super-premium apartments in exclusive

neighbourhoods, with oodles of space, the most luxurious of interiors,

named architects, private lifts, landscaped gardens, and every facility that

could be required such as a gym, swimming pool, security and CCTV,

children's play areas.

These apartments are large; typically in the 4,000 to 7,000 sq ft range,

though some can go as large as 10,000 sq ft. Some of the presidential

apartments have as many as 8-10 bedrooms. The prices for these average Rs

30,000-35,000 per sq feet and above. On average, 20,000 sq ft of space can

cost as much as Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million).

The characteristic feature of a presidential apartment is its privacy and

exclusivity, rather than the amenities offered. So you have one apartment

per floor, with the habitable floors starting from the 10th floor level or above,

in order to rise above the clutter of the buildings around. Besides space,

these buildings have top-notch clientele, people that each of the prospective

buyers would like to associate with. Most are sold by invitation only to the

chosen few to maintain the exclusivity of the community.

Super Luxury Addresses in Mumbai

The super luxury addresses in Mumbai are Nariman Point, Cuffe Parade,

Napeansea Road, Colaba, Carmichael Road, Altamount Road and Worli.

"Every second building in Mumbai commands a huge price, anything above

Rs 25,000 per sq ft to sometimes even up to a whopping Rs 75,000 per sq ft,"

says architect Hafeez Contractor.

o Indiabulls promoter Saurabh Mittal recently bought a 5,500 sq ft

apartment in Maker Building on Cuffe Parade for Rs 40 crore (at Rs

72,000 per sq ft)

o Leading stockbroker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought a 4,400 sq ft

apartment at El Palazzo on Malabar Hill for Rs 25 crore (at Rs 57,000

per sq ft)

o Vice-chairman of Reliance Capital, Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, recently

bought a 2,880 sq ft apartment at NCPA, Nariman Point for Rs 18 crore

(at Rs 63,000 per sq ft).

New Developments in South & Central Mumbai: Castles in the Air

Imperial Towers on Kambala Hill, Tardeo, South Mumbai.

Developed by Shapoorji Pallonji along with S D Corporation, Imperial Towers

has two 65-storey towers. Designed by Mumbai

architect Hafeez Contractor, apartments will begin only

on the twelfth floor, with the first 11 reserved for

parking and common utilities like a fitness centre. The

Imperial offers sea-views by virtue of its height, and a

resort-like gardens and fountains on top of the parking-

structure podium, with hanging gardens that mask the

structure itself.

Each apartment, sized 2,550-10,105 sq ft, will be designed specifically for the

buyer. Brokers say the smallest flat here will cost Rs 6- 7 crores. Imperial

towers have two 25,000 sq ft penthouses on top. At a conservative Rs 50,000

a sq ft, each of these penthouses could cost Rs 125 crore.

K Raheja’s Project at Altmount Road.

Altamount Road, the 2-km stretch of real estate in upmarket South Mumbai,

is the hottest address in Mumbai — tall trees, quiet by lanes and thick

foliage.Standing tall at 36 storeys, the building on the old Chattan Bungalow

site at Altamount Road, being developed by K Raheja Universal. The first 12

stories offer just amenities. The remaining 24 storey have 12 duplex

apartments stacked on top of each other. Each apartment has its own huge

terrace and an elevator to take the car right up to the living room. The whole

building itself is on a hill, enhancing the view. The price tag is Rs.15-25 Crore.

Lodha Solitaire, on Napean Sea Road in South Mumbai.

The area of Lodha Solitaire is 30,000 sq ft. The

target possession is in 2008. There are 7 apartments

and 1 duplex penthouse. Lodha Builders is selling a

7,200 sq ft apartment for Rs 4.32 Crore, which

comes to Rs 60,000 a sq ft. The project highlights

are beautiful décor and spectacular sea views.

Amenities include an infinity-edge swimming pool

and mini-theatre.

Lodha Bellissimo, Mahalakshmi, South

Mumbai

Lodha Bellissimo is a 50 storey building, with

views of the race course and Arabian Sea situated

in the west and an extensive breathtaking garden

in the east. Apart from the sprawling garden at the ground level, there is one

garden at every four floors. This means that there are over ten flats that

come with a garden and sundeck area.

Since it is inviting to South Mumbai’s richest of the rich, the Lodha Bellissimo

promises a three-level parking to accommodate 500 cars within the premises,

with valet service for all. The project will only be ready in the middle of 2009.

The flats will only be given to people ‘by invitation’.” The building will be

providing 3 and 4 BHK flats at Rs. 4 to Rs. 8 crores.

Lodha Bellissimo has three phases A, B and C. While A & B are already

launched and are under construction, which are expected to get complete by

September 2009, Bellissimo C is set to get complete by December 2010.

Bellissimo C is being sold at the rate of Rs 25,000 per sq ft. Bellissimo A & B

have already been sold out.

Residents will have the luxury of access to all the ‘club facilities’, a yoga and

meditation pavilion, a hi-tech gym, separate swimming pools for adults and

kids, a tennis court with floodlights, squash court, multipurpose hall for

basketball, volleyball and badminton, indoor games arena, a well-stocked

library, a café, a banquet hall and a cricket pitch.

Villa Orb at Napeansea Road

Orbit Corporation Ltd is set to deliver Villa Orb, an extravaganza costing Rs

55,000-Rs 60,000 a square feet along the upscale Napeansea Road, Mumbai

beachfront.

Villa Orb consists of seven apartments of 7,500 sq ft

each with one apartment per floor. There are eight

floors to park over 80 cars.

A top floor penthouse will make up a total of eight residential floors of the 18-

storeyed super structure, which will also house a gym, squash court, snooker

and table tennis tables, swimming pool and health club on the 9th and 10th

floor. The façade will have a cladding of Italian marble. An air-conditioned

lobby, piped music in common area and a 24- hour concierge system make

up the rest.

Clients are offered a bare shell structure to opt for the number of bedrooms

they prefer — either four or five. The concept of relating the number of

parking slots to the number of built-up units appears to be of a bygone era

here. “It’s one for each bedroom we are thinking of, if not more,” says Mr

Yadav. Moreover, the company claims to be first in using stainless steel in

reinforcement

Super Luxury Developments in Suburbs

Hiranandani's Evita at Powai

The Hiranandani Group is selling a premium 72-apartment building in

Hiranandani Gardens at Powai. The apartments are five bedroom flats

ranging between 4,880 sq ft and 4,925 sq ft, at prices starting at about Rs 5

crore. Its selling point, especially for the higher floors, is a spectacular view

from 30 feet-wide windows offering an uninterrupted vista of greenery (Powai

Lake, National Park Hills and the woods of Aarey Milk Colony). More than 40

% of the area set aside for gardens, forests and playgrounds.

Signature Island at Bandra Kurla Complex

The Bandra Kurla complex is also to see its first residential development,

Signature Island comprising 48 duplexes and two penthouses up to 6,000 sq

ft and priced at Rs. 20,000 per sq ft.

Sunteck Group is constructing a Signature Island jointly with Ajay Piramal’s

Indiareit, a real estate venture fund. The India Reit fund is to invest Rs. 63

crore in Mumbai's Signature Island project. The project will be ready for

possession by February 2008. The project has got a lot of enquiries from

diamond traders due to its proximity to Bharat Diamond Bourse. The

facilities at Signature Island will include separate lift for each flat and a two-

level car parking lot.

Premium Developments in Other Metros

Delhi – Super Premium Developments

Super premium apartments are also becoming in vogue in Delhi & the

National Capital Region.

DLF is building a nine-storey apartment complex on 2.5 acres in W-block of

Greater Kailash II, in south Delhi. These 6,000 sq ft apartments are being sold

for over Rs 21 crore (Rs 19,000-25,000 per sq ft), by invitation only.

Gurgaon too has some big ones. The top-end penthouse at Ansal's The Ivy

could cost between Rs 7-8 crore. A 2,500-4,500 sq ft apartment at DLF's new

Park Place and Park Tower ranges between Rs 1.75-3.15 crore. DLF Aralias is

a choice property located on the Golf Course in Gurgaon. Apartment sizes

range from 5,800 sq ft to over 10,000 sq ft for the penthouse. Renowned

architect Hafeez Contractor has designed DLF Aralias. The price is between

Rs.6 to 10 crores for a bare apartment minus flooring, plastering or woodwork

so that the owner can design the interiors as they wish.

DLF’s another project at Gurgaon is The Magnolias. The project is a 410-

apartment complex on an 18-hole golf course. The 5,900 sq ft flat costs Rs

9,000 a sq ft and DLF has sold nearly 20 apartments at this price which is

around Rs 5.25 crore. The 10,000 sq ft penthouses, 32 in the complex, are

selling at Rs 10 crore.

In Noida, Unitech has launched Grande, a project featuring high rise

apartments and penthouses on a signature Greg Norman nine-hole golf

course. Prices here start at Rs 2 crore and go up to Rs 5 crore. Omaxe's The

Forest at Noida offers apartments ranging from 4,000-6,500 sq ft for Rs 2.25-

4.5 crore.

Bangalore is catching up on Super Premium Developments

In Bangalore, the trend took off when the city-based Mantri Developers

launched its Rs 40-crore, 17-floor super premium residential project `Mantri

Altius' on an 85,000-sq-ft built-up area in a prime locality in 2006. What was

unique, perhaps unheard of even in Mumbai and New Delhi, was that the

developers selected the occupants of the apartments themselves, making the

neighbourhood exclusive. Each floor has a single 5,500-odd sq-ft apartment.

The first apartment was sold for Rs 3 crore, and the last, Rs 9 crore.

Another project is Nitesh Estates' Buckingham Gate project in Lavelle Road

marries European architecture with modern-day technology. Set within

landscaped gardens, the complex is hidden away from the main road by lush

foliage. Apartments range from 4,000 to 5,000 sq ft in size and are priced at

approximately Rs.12,000 per sq ft.

Sobha Anantha off Richmond Road in Bangalore offers 7 four-bedroom

apartments up to 5,600 sq ft. The apartments are priced at Rs.11,500 per sq

ft.

Kolkata is Ready to Start Super Premium Developments

A 41-floor residential building is going to be the latest and truly high-priced

edifice in the Kolkata. This will be called Diamond Top, a product of the

Diamond Group headed by A N Shroff.

Going by reports, the 84/86 living units in the proposed super-premium

double towers in Gurusaday Road will cost anything between Rs 4.5 crores

and Rs 7 crores.

The towers are being designed like a futuristic spacecraft. Each of the units

will be patterned like an exclusive villa, some spread across three levels

going up to 10,000 sq. ft., according to the architect. Literally on top of

everything, a glass-house, illuminated party lounge on the topmost floor,

rightly called The Crown, is the piece de resistance.

Premium Villas in Other Parts of the Country

In Hyderabad, Emaar Properties is developing villas and apartments along an

18-hole golf course in Boulder Hills. Brokers say the project is so exclusive

that just a visit to see a sample villa is nearly impossible to get. Each villa is

expected to be sold for Rs 7-8 crore.

DLF also has a plan for very high-end villas in posh Chanakyapuri. These

6,000-7,000 sq ft villas could cost between Rs 12-14 crore (Rs 20,000 per sq

ft).

And there are developers such as Purvankara who promise to bring Europe to

Bangalore's outskirts. One such project, Purva Venezia, would have

everything from the sparkling waterways with gently rocking gondolas to the

arching bridges, the vast piazza and the manicured gardens inspired by the

magical landscape of Venice. The project would also include a supermarket,

gym, swimming pool, health spa, jacuzzi, and tennis court

In Pune's upmarket Kalyani Nagar, Kumar Builders is selling its last 5,322 sq

ft bungalows for Rs 4.25 crore (Rs 42.5 million). Gera Developments are

developing 3- and 4-bedroom Sky Villas at Kharadi, Pune. These villas

combine the feel and privacy of independent villas with the security and

conveniences of apartments. In addition to 600 Sky Villas, this project will

also include a full-fledged country club and a hotel on a total of 25 acres.

Gera Developments is also developing GreensVille, with 89 luxury Garden

Villas on 13 acres, again at Kharadi.