Source: Fortune India ( https://bit.ly/4rjWEZv )

India’s real-estate landscape is being transformed — the residential segment alone is forecast to command around 70% of the total real-estate market by 2026. Driving this surge: robust housing demand, growing buyer confidence, and a steady shift toward premium, well-located homes.

In Q1 of calendar year 2025, residential sales reached over 93,000 units — a clear signal of recovery in demand after the pandemic slowdown. Even more telling is the surge in value: in major Tier-1 cities, residential sales in H1 2025 touched ₹3.6 lakh crore, despite a modest dip in unit volume. The explanation lies in a 14% jump in average ticket size, rising to ₹1.42 crore — a sign that buyers are opting for larger and more expensive homes.

This premiumisation is seen across the top real-estate urban markets. Regions such as the National Capital Region (NCR) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) lead the charge: for NCR, nearly three-quarters of the sales value came from homes priced above ₹3 crore; MMR saw strong interest in ultra-premium inventory as well. Meanwhile, other metros — from Bengaluru and Chennai to Kolkata and Ahmedabad — also showed growth: often not through volume, but by value, as luxury and premium homes dominate.

On the supply side, real-estate developers and investors are optimistic. Post-COVID capital — both domestic and foreign — has been flowing back into the sector, driven by demand for residential assets. At the same time, reduced financing costs (thanks to monetary easing and rate cuts) and stable macroeconomic conditions are helping buyers and builders alike.

Beyond housing, commercial real estate, retail and hospitality remain active: office leasing and retail space expansion continue, and hospitality is seeing new room additions. But residential real estate remains the biggest driver of the overall market.

Industry sentiment is strong: both buyer and developer confidence indices have rebounded, and nearly all market participants expect prices to remain stable or increase.

Looking ahead, the dominance of residential real estate carries implications for multiple stakeholders: developers may continue to prioritise premium housing; lenders could see increased demand for home loans; and policymakers must address urban planning and affordable-housing gaps to avoid pricing out large segments of home-seekers. Meanwhile, for buyers, the trend underscores that the future of real estate in India is increasingly about value—and value now means premium, location, and amenities.