Chennai real estate defies national slowdown with 31% growth in premium home sales
Chennai emerged as 2025’s standout performer in the premium housing supply (over ₹1 crore segment) with a 31 per cent y-o-y growth while all other major cities saw a decline in sales, and nationally there was a decline.
Chennai saw sales of 14,837 units in 2025.
On a m-o-m basis, Chennai saw a steep increase while other cities, except Delhi NCR, saw a decline, JLL’s new research showed.
In growth of new launches of premium houses, Chennai was just behind Kolkata with 45 per cent growth. Kolkata had 60 per cent growth. However, the base was small for both the cities when compared with other major cities.
Bengaluru, Mumbai and Pune each surpassed 50,000 units, collectively capturing 63 per cent of annual sales.
Housing supply premiumisation was evident in 2025, with premium segments growing 6 per cent y-o-y while total launches dropped 3 per cent to 293,079 units.
Developers strategically prioritized higher-margin projects while being selective with mid-range launches based on city and micro-market level trends, the report said.
“Chennai led the transformation with 45 per cent y-o-y supply growth, reflecting shift in buyers’ preference from traditional houses to apartments amid evolving lifestyle preferences and end-user requirements,” said Siva Krishnan, Senior Managing Director (Chennai & Coimbatore), Head – Residential Services, India, JLL.
Chennai’s growth at a time of national decline reflects the city’s strong fundamentals, said Ranjeeth Rathod, Managing Director of DRA Homes, a real estate developer in Chennai.
Along with GCCs expansion and growth of manufacturing, NRI demand and wealth creation in upper middle class and HNIs have led to this growth in the premium segment, he noted.
On the lower base, Rathod said Chennai is end user driven and not speculative. So you will always see steady numbers and never exponential numbers, he added.
On an all India basis, the market shift toward premium housing was evident as apartments above ₹1 crore increased their share to 63 per cent in 2025 from 53 per cent in 2024, reflecting buyers’ preference for value-driven purchases despite overall volume decline, the research said.
The mass housing segment faced significant headwinds, with sub-₹1 crore home sales declining substantially and their market share dropping to 37 per cent in 2025 from 47 per cent in 2024.
Published on January 22, 2026
