PropXplor Research · Edition 1 · 2026

The Premium Property Buyer Report 2026.

A buyer-side read on premium homes across Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Thane, Vasai-Virar, Pune & Bangalore — what the prices, the scores and the fine print really say before you commit a crore or more.

The headline finding

Even among 123 hand-picked premium projects, our PropScore spans 77–95 — and only 15% score 90+.

Premium price does not guarantee a premium home. A trophy address still varies on light, loading, legal status and true net yield — which is exactly what a PropScore is built to expose.

123
premium projects PropXplor tracks & vets — a curated sample, not a market average
5
markets — Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Thane, Vasai-Virar, Pune & Bangalore
80+
data points behind every PropScore — legal, build quality, price, yield
At a glance

Five things every premium buyer should know this year.

42%
Premium is where the market is moving

of new housing supply in India's top 7 cities (H1 FY26) was luxury or ultra-luxury — sales value is set to rise ~19% even as unit volumes stay flat.1

+8.7%
Prices are still climbing

Mumbai prime residential prices rose 8.7% in 2025; Bengaluru 9.4%. The official all-India house-price index rose 3.6% year-on-year.2,3

15%
Premium price ≠ premium home

Only 15% of the 123 premium projects we track score 90+ on PropScore; 7% score below 80. The address is not the verdict.

57%
RERA is not a formality

We could immediately confirm a clean registered RERA status for only 57% of these premium projects — always verify the live registry.4

₹200cr
Recovery is not guaranteed

MahaRERA issued warrants to recover ₹705.6 cr; only ₹200.2 cr was actually recovered. A favourable order ≠ your money back.5

~18–20%
NRIs now drive ~1 in 5 deals

NRI share of Indian real-estate transactions has roughly doubled since 2015–18 — and the cost stack (TDS, repatriation) is unforgiving if mishandled.6,7

The PropScore lens

Where 123 premium projects actually land.

We scored every project we track on the same 80+ data points. The spread is the story: a tight band of genuine 90+ homes, a large middle that needs negotiation or caveats, and a tail below 80 we would tell a member to think hard about — all at premium prices.

Sample: 123 curated premium projects · range 77–95 · average 85.4 · median 86.

PropScore 90–9519 projects
PropScore 85–8957 projects
PropScore 80–8438 projects
PropScore 77–799 projects

PropXplor Premium Tracker, n=123, 2026. PropScore is PropXplor's own assessment.

The backdrop

The market is premiumising — and that changes the buyer's job.

India isn't selling more homes — it's selling pricier ones. In 2025, top-7-city unit volumes actually fell ~14%, yet sales value rose because the mix shifted up-market.8 When everyone is chasing the same premium inventory, the discipline of an independent, scored second opinion matters more, not less.

42% of new supply is luxury

In H1 FY2026, 42% of new residential supply across the top 7 cities was luxury or ultra-luxury; the share of supply priced above ₹2.5 crore rose to 21% (from 18% in 2024).

ANAROCK Research, Nov 2025 1
Value up ~19%, volumes flat

Top-7 housing sales value is projected to grow ~19% in FY26 to exceed ₹6.65 lakh crore — driven by premiumisation, not more transactions.

ANAROCK Research, Nov 2025 1
₹1 crore+ launches up 12%

Launches of homes priced above ₹1 crore rose 12% in 2025 even as total launches across 8 major markets fell ~2.9%.

Knight Frank India, H2 2025 9
Official prices still rising

The RBI All-India House Price Index reached 115.6 in Q3 FY26 — up 3.6% year-on-year. Knight Frank put Mumbai prime at +8.7% and Bengaluru at +9.4% for 2025.

RBI, Feb 2026 · Knight Frank Wealth Report 2026 2,3
What we track

The premium inventory, broken down.

Residential vs commercial
Residential 81%Commercial 19%

Residential-led, with a Grade-A office & pre-leased slice for HNI/NRI yield. Villas, penthouses and plots — the scarce tier — are just 21 of 123.

Coverage by market
Mumbai25
Pune25
Thane25
Bangalore24
Navi Mumbai24
Price & pedigree

Residential tickets run from ₹1 Cr to ₹30 Cr+ (pre-leased commercial larger) — premium is not one price.

Supply is brand-concentrated: 58 developers, led by Lodha Group (Macrotech Developers), Godrej Properties, Prestige Group, House of Hiranandani, Kalpataru Limited. Track record — not marketing — is the filter.

All figures in this section: PropXplor Premium Tracker, n=123 curated premium projects, 2026.

Buyer risk

Where premium buyers still get hurt.

Verify RERA — every time

We could immediately confirm a clean registered RERA status for only 57% of the premium projects we track. The rest were ongoing, awaited or unconfirmed at research time. Both MahaRERA and Karnataka RERA publish live registers of lapsed and revoked projects — check yours before you pay.4

An order ≠ your money

Karnataka RERA disposed 81.5% of 12,772 complaints — but of 1,500+ execution applications, only 292 led to actual recovery. MahaRERA recovered ₹200.2 cr against ₹705.6 cr of warrants. Winning is not getting paid.5,10

The score, not the showflat

Loading, carpet efficiency, light, true net yield and the full cost stack don't show up in a showflat. 7% of the premium projects we track score below 80 on these fundamentals despite the price tag.

The NRI lens

If you're buying from abroad, the cost stack is unforgiving.

NRIs now account for roughly 1 in 5 Indian property transactions — up from ~7–10% a decade ago.6 But the rules that protect a resident buyer don't all apply to you, and two facts catch NRIs out most:

TDS has no safety threshold

Buying from an NRI seller, you must deduct TDS at ~12.5% on long-term capital gains (≈14.95% with surcharge & cess) — with no ₹50 lakh threshold like resident sellers get. Get this wrong and the liability is yours.7

Repatriation is capped

You can repatriate up to USD 1 million per financial year from an NRO account after Indian taxes are paid; beyond that needs RBI approval through your bank. Plan the exit before the entry.11

City spotlights

A one-line buyer verdict per market.

Mumbai

India's largest market (≈97,000 units in 2025) and the priciest — the Worli–Parel arc sets the ultra-luxury benchmark. Pay for the address only if the PropScore backs it.

Thane

The value-for-space premium play off Mumbai — verify the micro-market and infrastructure timelines, not the brochure render.

Navi Mumbai

The airport-belt growth story — strong upside where connectivity is real, but launch hype outruns delivery. Scrutinise RERA dates.

Pune

Deep premium demand in Koregaon Park, Baner and Balewadi — end-user-led and steadier, but developer track record varies widely.

Bangalore

Prime prices up ~9.4% in 2025; Whitefield and Sarjapur lead. Title and approval diligence is non-negotiable here.

What comes next

Edition 2 will publish a buyer-side index nobody else has.

As our advisors run real PropScore inspections, future editions will report the share of premium projects that clear each due-diligence gate — RERA, clean title, carpet efficiency, realistic net yield, on-time delivery. A number written from the buyer's side of the table.

Want this rigour on the home you're actually considering?

A PropScore on every shortlisted home, a dedicated advisor, and zero brokerage charged to you.

Methodology & limitations

PropXplor figures are computed from a curated sample of 123 premium residential and commercial projects we track across Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Thane, Vasai-Virar, Pune and Bangalore — selected because they are premium, not drawn at random. They are not a representative market survey, and PropScore is PropXplor's own assessment. RERA status reflects what was confirmable at research time and is not a legal certification — always verify the live registry. Macro figures are attributed to the named public sources below; market-size and NRI-share figures are industry-reported and directional. Data current as of June 2026.

Sources
  1. ANAROCK Research, "Luxury housing drives momentum… top 7 cities," Nov 2025.
  2. Reserve Bank of India, All-India House Price Index, Q3:2025-26 press release, Feb 2026.
  3. Knight Frank, Wealth Report 2026 / Prime International Residential Index.
  4. MahaRERA & Karnataka RERA public registers (registered, lapsed, revoked projects).
  5. MahaRERA recovery-warrant data, 2025.
  6. NRI transaction share, industry-reported (ANAROCK), via Square Yards, 2025.
  7. TDS on purchase from NRI seller (Section 195), ClearTax FY2025-26 guide.
  8. ANAROCK Research, top-7-city 2025 sales volume & value, 2025.
  9. Knight Frank India Real Estate, H2 2025.
  10. Karnataka RERA complaints & execution data, via Real Estate Law Journal, 2026.
  11. Repatriation of NRO funds (FEMA/RBI USD 1m/year), India Law Offices / ICICI Bank NRI.

© 2026 PropXplor. Figures may be quoted with attribution to "The PropXplor Premium Buyer Report 2026."