Sales of apartments worth more than ₹1 crore grew 6 per cent in 2025, in stark contrast with a 30 per cent decline in apartments priced below ₹1 crore, indicating the shrinking space for middle class housing in the top seven cities of India.

The number of units sold under ₹1 crore accounted for only 37 per cent of total sales in 2025 compared with 47 per cent a year ago, a report published by property consultancy firm JLL said.

In contrast, the share of properties priced ₹1 crore and above stood at 63 per cent, up from 53 per cent a year ago as weaker sales from the middle segment pulled overall sales on an annual basis down 11 per cent, the report noted.

This increased contribution in market share was primarily driven by strong demand across premium price segments, particularly in the ₹1.5-3.0 crore price category. Industry observers said the trend reveals developers’ appetite for bringing premium housing in the market which are more margin accretive and the lack of opportunity to build middle class housing in top cities with rising land prices and increasing construction costs.

The trend was evident with launches as well. While overall launches were down 3 per cent, the premium segment continued to attract the interests of developers, the report said. In Calcutta, launches were, however, up 61 per cent to 17,164 units due to the base effect.

Samantak Das, chief economist and head of research at JLL India, argued that India’s residential market experienced a premiumisation shift in 2025, linking the trend to buyers’ preference for large gated projects rather than standalone properties in search of better amenities and not to rising income inequalities.

“Despite an 11 per cent drop in total pan-India sales, sales value climbed 11 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹5,57,100 crore, demonstrating buyers’ preference for quality developments over price premiums,” Das said.