Bengaluru buyers chase premium houses

Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s real estate market is witnessing a stark divide: premium homes are flying off the shelves while budget properties languish unsold.

Homebuyers are shunning smaller flats lacking amenities, pushing the city’s unsold inventory to 67,518 units by end of 2025, a 25% jump from the previous year. The sub-Rs 1 crore segment, once the market’s backbone, is losing ground rapidly.

Developers are aligning their offerings to meet the rising demand from aspirational buyers with a 7% increase year-on-year in the average unit size launched in 2025 compared to 2024, according to Knight Frank, an independent property consultant.

The city is witnessing traction in houses in the Rs 1-5 crore category, where the QTS (quarters-to-sale) stands at a healthy 2.9-3.1 quarters. These figures point at a market where developers are choosing to take on inventory risk at the premium end, confident in the velocity of sales, it said.

“The lack of interest of homebuyers to opt for smaller houses was mainly due to poor accessibility to their offices, lack of modern amenities and size. Post-Covid, customers are preferring larger homes with better amenities,” said M Murali, Chairman and MD, Shriram Properties.

Homebuyers are looking for larger houses in the range of 1,600 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft for a 3BHK house and 1,200 sq ft for a 2BHK house. They are also looking for organised and branded builders rather than affordable houses, he said.

However, the real inventory stress lies at the bottom: Units priced below Rs 50 lakh now have a QTS of 20.3 quarters, compared to the overall 4.9 quarters for the city, signaling poor absorption.

“The old inventory is not aligned with current market trends. Homebuyers prefer modern amenities and location preferences. Buyers are preferring to stay closer to their workplaces and don’t mind paying extra to get what they want,” said Vivek Rathi, National Director- Research at Knight Frank India.

During 2025, the city witnessed sales of 55,373 units of all types.

The market realignment has crowned a new winner: North Bengaluru captured 34% of new launches and 33% of sales in 2025, dethroning East Bengaluru for the first time.

Infrastructure upgrades — Kempegowda International Airport, commercial projects and the upcoming Blue Line Metro — have transformed areas like Hebbal, Thanisandra, Jakkur and Airport Road from speculative bets into red-hot demand zones.

The message is clear: Bengaluru’s homebuyers are voting with their wallets, and they’re voting for space, amenities, and location over rock-bottom prices, Knight Frank said.

South Bengaluru retained its dominance with the inauguration of the Yellow Line Metro and rise of high-ticket size launches in micro-markets such as Begur, Sarjapur Road, and Electronics City.

Meanwhile, East Bengaluru, long regarded as the city’s residential and commercial powerhouse, saw a marginal decline in its relative share to 27% of new launches and 30% of sales.

This dip is more a result of increased traction in the North, rather than waning demand in the East.