DLF's $4 billion luxury Indian project to take four years to build

DLF

27/01/2025 12:12

By Dhwani Pandya
       MUMBAI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - India's DLF said on Monday it
would take more than four years to build its $4 billion
ultra-luxury project near New Delhi and that Indians living
abroad were joining locals in snapping up apartments in one of
the country's priciest developments ever.    
    DLF  DLF.NS  is targeting buyers as a rise in wealthy
Indians has created not just a rush for high-end homes but also
for Mercedes and Lamborghini cars, watches and even luxury
bathrooms, trends that are emblematic of India's divides as
hundreds of millions still depend on government food handouts. 
    Around 173 of the 420 units on offer have already been sold
at $8 million each, and the $4 billion project is effectively
being priced at $742 per square feet, DLF says. That compares to
an average 2024 apartment price of $817 per square feet in the
Burj Khalifa in Dubai, according to Knight Frank.
    Apartments will be handed over as bare shells to customers
who will spend more to design them internally, and will take
more than four years to build, Aakash Ohri, chief business
officer for DLF, said in an interview, detailing the plans for
the first time.
    In India, the "luxury market has just begun ... After Delhi,
Mumbai should be a good market to be around in the luxury
space," said Ohri. 
    DLF, India's biggest real estate developer, has historically
focused on markets near New Delhi.
    Sales of ultra-luxury homes, which Anarock Property
Consultants classifies as those priced above $4.6 million in
India, in 2024 rose 17%.
    Early demand for the project took DLF's sales bookings for
April-December to $2.2 billion, the company said on Friday,
above its own full fiscal-year outlook of around $2 billion.
    The new project will offer a so-called "lake park", which
will have cascading lakes, cinemas, an on-call chef and indoor
sports facilities, Ohri said.
    Ohri said that 12% of the 173 units sold were booked by
non-resident Indians (NRIs).
    "NRIs don't want to compromise on their living in India ...
They are living in estates and plush homes all over the world.
And they feel that India should be no less," he said.

 (Reporting by Dhwani Pandya. Editing by Aditya Kalra and Mark
Potter)
 ((dhwani.p@thomsonreuters.com;))