From lavish bungalows in the Mumbais upscale Malabar Hill to expensive apartments in Lutyens Delhi the sale and purchase of luxury real estate by Indias ultra rich has increased at a rapid pace in recent times. According to a report by the Economic Times Leena Gandhi Tewari the chairperson of pharmaceutical giant USV Private Limited recently purchased two duplex flats with a combined area of 22572 square feet in Mumbais Worli for Rs 635 crore. The deal is being touted as the most expensive in India with each square foot of space costing a whopping Rs 2.83 lakh as per the report. Additionally the Kotak family has bought an entire sea-facing building in Mumbai for Rs 628 crore while DMart owner Radhakishan Damani purchased a vintage bungalow in the posh Malabar Hill area for a staggering Rs 1000 crore. Why Indias ultra rich are investing in luxury real estate? As per experts there are a multitude of factors responsible for the countrys uber-rich deciding to invest in luxury real estate such as the rising demand in the real estate market for luxury homes. However the number of such properties is still relatively compared to the demand especially in highly-sought areas like Lutyens Delhi Mumbais Worli and Golf Course Road in Gurugram. This unequal demand and supply scenario in the luxury real estate market has resulted in prices of these properties skyrocketing in recent times which can be gauged from the fact the Leena Tewari paid a record Rs 2.83 lakh per square feet for her duplex apartments in Mumbai while one square feet at Gurugrams DLF Camellias costs around Rs 1.17 lakh. Notably the ultra rich are not buying these properties for habitation they plan to monetize them. As per reports the Kotak family plans to rebuild the sea-facing building they recently purchased in Worli and likely turn it into a luxury apartment building. Luxury real estate prices skyrocketing in Indian metros Luxury real estate prices in India metros and tier-I cities are surging at a rapid pace with Mumbai Bengaluru and Delhi ranked among 15 world cities where prices of luxury homes are increasing the fastest as per a report by Knight Frank. Bengaluru ranks 4th on the list followed by Mumbai at 5th and Delhi at the 15th spot. According to market data Indias luxury home market grew by 28% in FY23-24 with Delhi-NCR topping the sales. Together Bengaluru Mumbai and Delhi-NCR accounted for 67% of the total investment in luxury real estate showcasing these cities as major real estate hubs in the country. Notably the number of high net worth individuals (HNIs) increased by 6% to 85698 in 2024 and the number is expected to reach 93753 by 2028 according to the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2024. The report noted that HNIs in India invested 32% of their wealth in real estate in 2024 while the figure was 25% in 2020.